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Nearly 6,000 people have signed up for the Job Search Support benefit in the past four weeks, a return to levels last seen after the country’s first lockdown.
There were 1702 more people who received the benefit in the week ending September 4 than in the week ending August 28, new data from the Social Development Ministry shows.
An estimated 12.1% of New Zealand’s working-age population was receiving a primary benefit as of September 4.
“Over the past four weeks, just over 5,800 additional Jobseeker Support recipients have started, with additions to Jobseeker Support now at levels last seen in mid-May 2020,” said economist Brad Olsen. .
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But he said that the week through Sept. 4 was the first in which more people exited the Covid-19 income relief payment (CIRP) than continued.
That was a pay of $ 490 a week for full-time workers who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. It was only available for 12 weeks.
The number of people who received that payment fell by 6,302 for the week. That brought the total number of people with some form of support down to 4501 and below 200,000, the first weekly decrease in the number of people with income support since before the pandemic hit New Zealand.
Grant Matthew / Things
An estimated 12.1% of New Zealand’s working-age population was receiving a primary benefit as of September 4.
But Olsen said that doesn’t mean things are looking up.
“Now there are more than 363,000 kiwis in a main benefit …, with 199,000 only in supporting the job search. More than 18,000 people are still covered by CIRP.
“During the three months that the CIRP has been in operation, around 1700 people from the CIRP have canceled their support because they obtained work, suggesting that it is unlikely that a large number of those who have reached the end of their right to the CIRP have a paper to enter. During the last week, there were 1,414 CIRP grants. “
Many people who qualified for the Covid-19 payment will not qualify for job applicant assistance. Jobseeker places strict limits on family income: When a single person earns $ 449 a week before taxes, they are not eligible for assistance. A married couple can earn up to $ 664 or $ 702 if they have children.
But those who receive the Covid-19 payment could have family incomes of up to $ 2,000 per week before they were ineligible.
“The criteria for CIRP and Jobseeker are different, but I would expect many of those who leave CIRP without a new job to be eligible for Jobseeker Support, although there will be some who are ineligible or receive less due to their partner’s income. However, some outgoing CIRPs may instead choose to stay out of the workforce for now until working conditions improve and more positions are offered, ”said Olsen.
Economist Shamubeel Eaqub said the payment had served its intended role of softening the blow of job losses. But he said it was unlikely that many of the people who had claimed it had already found a job. It would mean that some of those who were unemployed earlier in the year now face a “second shock,” he said.
The basic job search fee is roughly half the Covid-19 payment.
The wage subsidy scheme has paid out $ 13.9 billion in its iterations. It is currently supporting 473,447 jobs.
But $ 435.6 million has been reimbursed by companies that claimed it and later didn’t qualify or didn’t need the money. That was paid back through 14,470 refunds.
