Jobseeker benefit numbers surge 11%: a caring government or a struggling economy?
Labour and National each have their own arguments.
Figures show that the number of people receiving the jobseeker benefit in New Zealand has risen by 14,000 in the year since June 2018, an increase of 11.2%.
National criticised the figures, saying they showed that the Labour Government ‘cannot lift people out of poverty’.
New Zealand’s three main benefits are Jobseeker Support, Sole Parent Support and the Supported Living Payment. The Ministry of Social Development’s latest benefit figures for the second quarter of this year show that the number of working-age people receiving these main benefits rose 5.2% compared with the same period last year.
The Ministry of Social Development’s latest benefit figures for the second quarter of this year show that the number of working-age people receiving the three main benefits rose 5.2% compared with the same period last year. A total of 291,969 working-age people received benefits, equivalent to 9.7% of the working-age population.
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However, Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni said the figures needed to be viewed objectively. The population had continued to grow, and the number of people receiving main benefits was still lower than in 2016, when National was in government.
Carmel Sepuloni
Carmel Sepuloni said manufacturing and retail were now weakening, and the Ministry of Social Development had made substantial efforts to provide employment training to improve people’s skills, hoping to help them find long-term skilled work. ‘Now is not the time for scaremongering,’ she added.
National clearly sees things differently.
National’s social development spokesperson Louise Upston said: ‘The most effective way out of poverty is work. With so many New Zealand businesses unable to find staff, the rising proportion of people receiving the jobseeker benefit is baffling.’
She added: ‘New Zealanders cannot afford this Government. Under its leadership, the cost of living has risen sharply, as demonstrated by the nearly 500,000 hardship grants issued over the past 12 months. More and more New Zealanders are struggling to feed and clothe themselves.’