Key note
There does not appear to be publicly available data before September 2008 but we have put in an OIA Request for this so that we can better understand the trend before the GFC.
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Key insights
- The GFC and Covid periods significantly increased the % of working-age New Zealanders on main benefits.
- Despite a low 3.3% official unemployment rate, 11% of Kiwis are still on main benefits.
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Key question
- Where do you think the benefit % will go from here?
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Have your say
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Full data
Please contact us if you would like the full analysis.
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Other forms of social welfare not included in this data
- Supplementary Assistance:
- Special Benefit (SPB) or Temporary Additional Support (TAS)
- Disability Allowance (DA)
- Accommodation Supplement (AS)
- Unsupported Child’s Benefit (UCB) and Orphan’s Benefit (OB)
- Hardship Assistance:
- Special Needs Grant (SNG)
- Advances (ADV)
- Recoverable Assistance Payment (RAP)
(the assistance above includes the following reasons: Food, Accomodation Related, Medical and Associated Costs, People Affected by Benefit Stand Downs, Electricity and Gas, School Education Costs, Re-establishment Grants, Driver Licence, Health Related, Long-Acting Reversible Contraception, Emergency Housing Grant, Other)
- Civil Defence Payments
- Working For Families tax credits:
- Family Tax Credit
- Minimum Family Tax Credit
- In-work Tax Credit
- Best Start
- Paid Parental Leave
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Definitions from Work and Income
- Jobseeker Support is a weekly payment that helps people while they are looking for work or can’t work right now.
- Sole Parent Support is a weekly payment that helps single parents find part-time work or get ready for future work.
- Supported Living Payment is a weekly payment to help you if you have, or are caring for someone with a significant health condition, injury or disability meaning that suitable work is unlikely within the next 2 years.
- Other Main Benefits:
- Emergency benefit – If you can’t support yourself and don’t qualify for any other payment, you may be able to get the Emergency Benefit.
- Emergency Maintenance Allowance is assistance that may be paid to sole parents who do not qualify for any other payments.
- Jobseeker Support Student Hardship (no definition given on the definitions page)
- Widow’s Benefit Overseas (no definition given on the definitions page)
- Youth Payment helps young people aged 16 or 17 who can’t live with their parents or guardian and aren’t supported by them or anyone else. (Not included in the 18-24 year-old data in the graph above).
- Young Parent Payment helps young parents aged 16-19 year olds.
- Sole Parent Support Overseas (no definition given on the definitions page)
- New Zealand Superannuation is a fortnightly payment for people aged 65 and over.
- Veteran’s Pension is a fortnightly payment for veterans who have qualifying operational service in the New Zealand Armed Forces.
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Other notes
- All publicly available data has been included.
- There isn’t yet a population estimate for June 2022, so we applied the same -510 18-64-year-old population decrease from December 2021 to March 2022, to March 2022 to June 2022.
- All numbers are provisional and subject to revision.
Thank you to the Factors who helped pull this together.
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Sources
- 2017-2022 https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/benefit/index.html > https://www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/benefit/2022/quarterly-benefit-fact-sheets-work-and-income-regions-tables-june-2022.xlsx (Main benefits-last 5 years)
- 2013-2018 https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/benefit/archive-2018.html
- 2008-2013 https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/benefit/archive-2013.html
- Other Main Benefits, Supplementary Assistance, Hardship Assistance, Civil Defence Payments
https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/benefit/index.html > https://www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/benefit/2022/quarterly-benefit-fact-sheets-national-benefit-tables-june-2022.xlsx - Definitions https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/index.html#j
Data published by Ministry of Social Development
(c) Crown Copyright
Licensed for use under the creative commons attribution licence (BY) 4.0
- NZs population
https://infoshare.stats.govt.nz/ (Population > Population Estimates – DPE > Estimated Resident Population by Age and Sex (1991+) (Annual-Mar)/Jun/Sep/Dec) - Unemployment rate
https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/unemployment-rate/
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ’s data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
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