Four-hundred less Jobseeker beneficiaries in Southland

Thursday, 10 June 2021

A pandemic, a redundancy and the curve balls of life cannot keep Kayla Watson down.

Watson, 28, is getting off the Jobseeker benefit after five months to start work at an Invercargill architectural facade company.

Southland and Otago has the lowest percentage of people receiving a Jobseeker benefit in New Zealand.

For the year to April, there are 417 fewer Jobseeker Work Ready beneficiaries in the whole of Southland, Ministry of Social Development figures show.

**READ MORE:

* More than 80,000 people on low incomes can earn more before their benefits are cut

* Coronavirus: Wage subsidy extension pleases Southland businesses

* MSD identifies 30,000 people who may be missing out on money

**

Watson was made redundant from a sales job in Hawke’s Bay in 2018 and then sat a pre-test for the army.

She failed advanced mathematics in the test and was put on a six-month stand down, but that was pushed back because of Covid-19.

Jobseeker Work Ready beneficiaries, April 2020 to April 2021

• Gore: 297 down to 189

• Invercargill City: 1368 down to 1146

• Southland District: 501 down to 414

Rather than sit around, Watson moved to Invercargill to do a pre-trade carpentry course.

Two-thirds of the way through the course, personal issues meant she had to leave the Southern Institute of Technology.

She was then referred to MSD-funded Invercargill agency Front-Line, and now has the new job lined up.

Jobseeker benefits vary depending on circumstances, but a single person older than 25 can receive a net weekly benefit of $258.50.

Watson is proud her persistence paid off.

“Someone has seen something in me and thought ‘okay, give this girl a chance’.”

Life would always through you curve balls, Watson said.

“Even though you may not get to your destination one way, you can take detours.”

While receiving Jobseeker since January, Watson was not satisfied taking 30 hours of work a week, because she had a student loan from a 2013 tourism course.

“Even if you gotta be chucked in the deep end, if you can show someone that you’re determined and happy to give something a go, it will pay off. Well hopefully.”

That attitude would benefit any jobseekers looking for a new start, she said.

While the number of Southlanders who went from Jobseeker Work Ready to a different benefit is not readily available, national figures indicate about four per cent of Jobseekers transferred to another main benefit in the March quarter.

Most of those transferred to the Jobseeker Support – Health Condition or Disability Benefit.

Nationally, there were 118,029 Jobseeker Work Ready recipients as at April. In the March quarter, about 25 per cent of those transferred off benefit altogether or onto superannuation.

Front-Line manager Nadia Steedman​ said there was an impression most beneficiaries were long-term, which was not the case.

The agency regularly helped people who had been made redundant or had a divorce, she said.

“You and I could be in this situation tomorrow,” Steedman said.

The age of Invercargill Work Ready Jobseekers is relatively even across age groups.

Most are 20 to 24-year-olds, with 171 recipients as of April.

But there are more recipients aged 45-49, 50-54, 55-59 and 60-64 (respectively), than 18 to 19-year-olds.

Minister for Social Development and Employment, Carmel Sepuloni, said a contributing factor to the low number of Southland and Otago beneficiaries was a stronger than expected economy.

That also coupled with primary industry opportunities, which had been relatively sheltered from the impacts of Covid-19, she said.

Hamilton’s population is about three times the size of Invercargill, but has more than five times as many Jobseeker beneficiaries.

“We’re also seeing a buoyant local economy with increased construction in the Invercargill CBD,” Sepuloni said.

This year's budget included an additional $99 million for work-focused case management and programmes to get people into work.

The Government had also introduced interventions such as Flexi-wage, and Apprenticeship Boost to incentivise employers to take a chance on people who may have been disadvantaged in the labour market, Sepuloni said.

“While unemployment is low, there are still people available for employers who need staff,” she said.

“I would encourage anyone who needs workers to contact Work and Income.”

Southland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Sheree Carey said employees were screaming out for staff.

Despite the drop in Jobseeker beneficiaries, there were still huge gaps, Carey said.

It was positive that many employers were taking on apprentices, she said.