New Zealand welfare numbers down as working age population grows
Xinhua, January 16, 2015 Adjust font size:
The number of New Zealanders on welfare in the December quarter fell to a six-year low, Social Development Minister Anne Tolley said Friday.
There were 309,145 people on benefit at the end of the December 2014 quarter, down by 12,700 year on year, Tolley said in a statement.
"This is the lowest December quarter since 2008 and the third consecutive quarter with such record lows," said Tolley.
The number of people on unemployment benefits was down by 5,594 to 124,631, and followed a consistent decline since 2010, even as the overall working age population had increased, she said.
Tolley attributed the fall to controversial reforms of the benefits system that aimed to get more people into work from 2013.
"The reductions we're now seeing will mean fewer people on benefit in the years to come, which means we're going to see healthier, more prosperous households," Tolley said. Endi