Reforms aimed at dole queue

Welfare reforms aimed at finding benefit applicants work instead of registering as unemployed will be taken to the Cabinet next month.

Social Development and Employment Minister David Benson-Pope told the Herald that a trial of the new approach - conducted over the past seven months in 12 centres - had helped newly unemployed people find jobs and he wanted it extended.

The approach focused on intervening when people applied for a benefit and helping them into work rather than simply examining their eligibility and signing them up for a benefit.

Under the reforms, people applying for benefits would be given a skill assessment to help match them to jobs and get access to support services.

Seminars, employment training and support would be available to all beneficiaries - currently the type of benefit a person is on determines the help they are entitled to.

Mr Benson-Pope said the programme meant many people would find work before they were registered for a benefit.

The Ministry for Social Development yesterday released its quarterly benefit statistics, which showed unemployment fell by 14,543 - 22 per cent - in the year to December.

The total number of people receiving any kind of benefit fell by 17,616, or 6 per cent. But the number of people on sickness and invalid benefits increased 3 per cent.

National Party welfare spokeswoman Judith Collins said the unemployment figures did not take into account the spate of redundancies this month, which has resulted in more than 340 people losing their jobs.

The Treasury has forecast unemployment will rise 0.4 per cent to 3.8 per cent by March next year, meaning 8000 more people will be unemployed.

Ms Collins said people were now twice as likely to be on a sickness or invalids benefit than on an unemployment benefit.

"I certainly get plenty of anecdotal evidence from people who work at Work and Income saying they have been putting people on to the sickness and invalids benefits - particularly those who are over 55 - rather than putting them on the unemployment benefit."

Mr Benson-Pope said an increase in the number of people on sickness and invalid benefits was a trend being felt worldwide.

The Government was spending $27.7 million over the next four years to expand a service to help sickness and invalid beneficiaries into work. Pilots of the service had resulted in 13 per cent of the participants getting jobs.