The number of people on the benefit continues to fall, as the economy bounces back from Covid-19.
About 190,000 people are on the main unemployment benefit, Jobseeker Support. Photo: RNZ
The latest quarterly figures from the Ministry of Social Development show there are about 11,000 fewer people receiving a benefit, compared to the previous quarter.
All up, there are just over 354,000 people on a benefit.
About 190,000 of them are on the main unemployment benefit, Jobseeker Support.
About 31,000 people got off the benefit in the three months to June because they had found a job.
Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni said that was the second highest number of people finding work since records began.
The figures also showed that of those who had found work, about 10,000 of them had been on a benefit for over a year, she said.
But the number of people on the benefit remained above pre-pandemic levels.
In the March 2020 quarter, which captured part of the initial hit from Covid-19 and the nationwide lockdown, there were about 310,000 on a main benefit, with almost 152,000 people on Jobseeker Support.