One step forward, five steps back

The Minister for Social Development has just issued a statement about the fall in numbers on the unemployment benefit in April. Rather confusing it is too;

Latest benefit figures out today show Unemployment Benefit numbers have dropped by almost 500 for the month of April...

...Maori account for three quarters of the fall in Unemployment Benefit figures.

Over the last month 4,654 people cancelled the Unemployment Benefit and went into work, 1,346 of those were Maori and 346 were Pacific Island people.

Get that?

In plain English, 4,654 unemployment benefits were cancelled but 4,154 were granted. Maori made up three quarters of the difference.

However there has been an overall rise in working-age beneficiaries from 324,814 to 327,462 or by 2,648. As I said, one step forward, five steps back.