Attending Anzac Day commemoration is always a sobering experience as we reflect on the service men and women who lost their lives serving as part of the Australia New Zealand

Army Corps (ANZAC) that landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. Our commitment to veterans is unwavering and on-going. As Prime Minister it was my honour to join many Veteran’s, their families, and locals at the Wellington Dawn Service.

Lately we have had some very good signs which point to a strengthening economy – a result of sound economic management.

The first of those is jobs. It’s great to see the number of job advertisements continuing to increase. ANZ’s report showed the number of jobs advertised on the internet and in newspapers grew almost 9 percent over the last 3 months. That’s a good indication that the improvement we’ve seen lately in the labour market will continue, with growing employment and a falling unemployment rate.

In the last year alone another 66,000 jobs were created, and forecasts made independently by Treasury, show around 170,000 more people will be in work by 2018.

The latest benefit numbers are also showing an improving labour market. Together with the effects of the Government’s welfare reforms, which are squarely aimed at getting people off benefits and into full-time work. There are now 15,000 fewer people dependent on benefits than a year ago. At the height of the recession, there were almost 353,000 people on welfare.

That’s now down to 295,000. Our focus on investing in people earlier and supporting them into work is clearly paying off. In the past 2 years, we’ve seen almost 30,000 fewer children dependent on benefits. The effect of that on children and families cannot be underestimated.

 We know children are almost certainly better off when they are in working households, and National is backing those children to have a better future.

Demand for workers across a number of sectors is growing, employment is growing, the number of people on benefits is falling, and wages are rising faster than inflation.

The Budget next month will lock in those gains.A strengthening economy is not just about GDP figures, which can seem rather remote from many people’s lives.

 In the end, it’s about jobs and incomes. As a National Government we’re seeing positive results, and we will continue to work hard and ensure that New Zealand stays on track for more jobs and higher incomes.