For instance, over the year to September 2016, "... the number of recipients of Jobseeker Support increased by 1,383, or 1.1 percent."
The rise is nearly all female; Maori and Pacific.
The drop in sole parents numbers is quite substantial - "....the number of recipients of Sole Parent Support decreased by 3,515, or 5.2 percent."
But (given the nature of the rise in Jobseeker numbers) I suspect that some of this reduction will actually be a transfer of older sole parents onto Jobseeker as their youngest child turns 14.
Regarding the last main benefit, "...the number of recipients of Supported Living Payment remained relatively stable, decreasing by 593, or 0.6 percent."
For many years the numbers on an invalid benefit only grew so even stability is an improvement.
HOWEVER, the upward trend in people receiving a Supported Living Payment for a psychological or psychiatric condition continues. A further 765 were added over the year.
There was a marked increase in Pacific people becoming dependent on this benefit and the age group with the largest growth was 25-39 years.
Overall, "...the number of main benefit recipients decreased by 3,292, or 1.1 percent."
At this rate (assuming a static population) it will only take around 69 years to get back to a level where only 2 percent of the working age population is reliant on a benefit - the sort of level that was normal until the 1970s!
3 comments:
Or we could adopt a rational policy and get to 0% tomorrow.
I remember back in the early sixties, the weekly scandal sheet the Truth Newspaper published a front page story about some poor cretin who had registered for the unemployment benefit of the day. The only person by all accounts.
Letters to the Editor were of a scathing nature, decrying the mindset of someone who couldn't be bothered getting a job.
As for people with mental health issues, they locked them up and threw away the key.
The good old days, I do miss the "Truth." it was a great read.
What ever happened to earning a living. Doing an honest day's work for an honest day's pay.I started my working life in 1971. It seems today, that we are all owed a living regardless of what we do to contribute. It seems that people now are afflicted with an illness called entitleitis.
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