While businesses across the country are crying out for workers, Labour’s ongoing failure to tackle benefit dependency is hugely concerning, National’s Social Development and Employment spokesperson Louise Upston says.

“You cannot walk into a supermarket or a café anywhere in the country without seeing a ‘help wanted’ sign. Yet despite record job vacancies, figures released today show there are still 177,000 people on the Jobseeker benefit – a staggering 56,000 more than when Labour came into office.

“Perhaps even more concerning than Labour’s failure to get people off welfare and into work at a time of severe labour shortages, is the fact that long-term dependency has soared. The number of people who have been receiving the Jobseeker benefit for more than a full year is 43,000 higher than in 2017.

“This should have alarm bells ringing in the Beehive, but instead we get yet more denial this is even a problem”

“Given all New Zealander’s pay the price of benefit dependency, Labour must explain why it’s allowing more people to languish on the benefit for longer.

“In 2021 an additional $6.8 billion was spent on benefits compared to 2017.

“Labour has made little headway in reducing benefit dependency, with 1 in 9 New Zealanders reliant on the State for an income despite plenty of jobs going unfilled. 

“A job is the only pathway out of hardship as it provides independence and choices. Unlike Labour, National believes in the capacity of New Zealanders to stand on their own two feet and achieve their potential.  

“A more vigorous effort must be made to target interventions that help people off the benefit. That means targeted employment support and ensuring the right incentives are in place.

“If Labour can’t get people off welfare and into work now, when Kiwi businesses are desperate for staff, when will they?”