HLFS (Household Labour Force Survey) defined unemployment is at its lowest rate since the survey started in 1986. Then, under 7 percent of working-age people relied on welfare.
Today, however, over 10 percent of working-age people rely on welfare.
We have, like most extensive welfare states, a good deal of hidden unemployment.
And to put the current level of dependence in context, in 1970 under 2 percent of working-age people were on welfare and more than half of those were widows.
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4 comments:
the only solution - and an easy one to implement - is simply to shut down the benefit system; dole, special purposes, DPB, the whole lot in one go.
Winz and the labour department can go to.
Then perhaps we can get some more of our hard-earned money back!
In 1970, attitudes to benefits were unfavourable to say the least. Only a concerted campaign to make receiving the DPB and unemployment benefit respectable, a little after 1970, saw increasing numbers. In the late 1970's, a senior Dean at one large north island secondary school (who's husband was a third party political candidate) actively encouraged students to apply for the dole, even if they thought they might return for the new school year school, so that the stand down period started immediately the old school year finished. There was political mileage in unemployment numbers rising under a National administration.
And in Palmerston North in the mid eighties a publicity officer for a beneficiaries union advised female students to go on the DPB rather than state-sponsored training schemes which she described as 'slave labour'.
Welfare needs to be made the undesirable option again in the hearts and minds of those that would rely on it. It should be seen at the *last* option for supporting one's self (as if welfare can ever be considered "supporting one's self").
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