Benefit numbers down last quarter, new figures show

The number of Wanganui residents on benefits has dropped markedly, according to new figures.

Ministry of Social Development figures show 5210 Wanganui residents claimed benefits in the three months to December last year - 112 less than the same quarter in 2013.

Jobseeker and sole parent benefit numbers decreased, while "supported living" benefits jumped from 1607 in the 2013 quarter to 1662 in 2014. Supported living benefits are for people with a health condition, injury or disability - as well as carers.

Asked why the supported living benefit numbers have risen, Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner Gloria Campbell said the agency focused on what people could do, rather than what they couldn't.

"We know many clients in receipt of Supported Living Payment want to work ... We have a range of assistance available for people whose goal is paid employment," she said.

Gary Reid, of Whanganui People's Centre Advocacy Service, said he hadn't noticed a decrease in beneficiaries and the service had been busy.

"A decrease of 100 over the quarter would only be a couple of people less a week for us," he said. "What I'd be interested in knowing is how many jobseekers who have gone off benefits have actually gone into full-time work.

"It can be quite a struggle for people in a small region like Wanganui, because we don't have much in the way of big businesses."

Mr Reid had heard of a few people going to Christchurch for work but said many people preferred to stay in Wanganui as it was expensive to move to the city.

Nationally, the number of people on benefits dropped by more than 12,000 in the year to December to 321,869.

Minister of Social Development Anne Tolley said the decline showed the Government's welfare reforms were continuing to support New Zealanders into work.

"This is the lowest December quarter since 2008 and the third consecutive quarter with such record lows," she said.

"Performance is strong around the country with only two regions, Wellington and Taranaki, registering a slight increase compared with the same period in 2013."

Numbers on the Jobseeker Support benefit - which made up the largest portion of benefit recipients - dropped by more than 5000 to 124,631.

Sole parents were also increasingly moving off benefits and into work, she said.

"There are more than 5300 fewer people on the Sole Parent Support benefit compared to last year, a drop of 6.8 per cent, and every region around the country recorded a reduction," Mrs Tolley said.

"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."

New Zealand Beneficiaries and Unemployed Workers Union spokesman Miles Lacey said the drop in beneficiary numbers didn't necessarily mean people's living situations had improved.

"A lot of the people who have moved into work will only be working casually or part-time so it can still be really hard for them to make ends meet," he said.

A greater focus on building up people's skills, in line with job requirements, was needed to improve employment, he said.

An overhaul of the welfare system has seen sickness beneficiaries, sole parents and widows with no children under 14 face the same requirements as other jobless people, pushing more people off benefits.