Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment): One of the highlights of last month's household labour force survey was the year-on-year increase in the number of people employed in the construction sector. There are now 278,000 people employed in this sector—an increase of 21,000 people since December 2019. This increase shows that not only has the construction sector weathered COVID19; it has rebounded and it is providing more employment opportunities for New Zealanders.