Adding up region’s benefits

The number of Southlanders on benefits is changing, five years on from the introduction of the government welfare reforms in 2013.

Although the total number of people on benefits in the region has remained fairly steady, the makeup of the different categories has been moving.

Throughout that time, jobseeker numbers have stayed relatively static, sole parent support benefits have dropped significantly, while the number of people on supported living benefits has gone up.

In 2013, the government streamlined the welfare system, reducing the number of benefits to fit within three categories: jobseeker benefits, sole parent support benefits, and supported living benefits.

Since then, the Ministry of Social Development has tracked the number of people on benefits on a quarterly basis from a national down to a district level.

In Southland, jobseeker benefits have remained the most static, with numbers averaging about 2500 per year.

These benefits tend to have seasonal variations, with a high point for numbers in September and a low point in March.

In the sole parent support category there has been a consistent lowering of numbers since 2013, dropping from 1478 in September 2013 to 1164 in March 2018.

This decreasing trend was consistent across both Ma¯ori and Pakeha (with other ethnic groups having a very low sample size), although the rate of change was different at 14 per cent compared to 27 per cent respectively.

The biggest decrease was observed within the Invercargill area, with both Southland