Unemployed, on the dole, or jobless?
No, they're not the same
Did you know that many benefit recipients are expected to work an extra hour but only receive an extra $4.19 in the hand? This is despite the statutory minimum wage being $23.50 per hour of work.
And, did you know that being unemployed is different from being on the dole?
A few months ago I wrote an earlier version of this note. It was, partly, intended to dispel the myth that the dole provides for those without jobs. And partly to slam the lazy, bludger stereotype of the jobless that was being encouraged by the renewed appearance of even harsher sanctions on benefit recipients. But, also to improve understanding of data and evidence in a world where, increasingly, data and evidence are being wantonly used by some to actively misinform and disinform.
Firstly, I look at the Statistics New Zealand Tatauranga Aotearoa Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS)1 official unemployment numbers and who they include. I also provide from this same survey the different numbers on who are jobless.
Secondly, I summarise the numbers registered by Work and Income as receiving the Jobseeker Support (JS)2 payment, which is known by some as ‘the dole’.
Note, I focus on actual ‘raw’ numbers rather than seasonally-adjusted figures or percentages or rates of change. This has disadvantages when comparing over long periods of time, but is more relevant and informative from the community perspective. Sadly, the narrative behind the numbers across a range of different measures reflects ongoing and increasing harm to many in our communities.
Household Labour Force Survey data
Figures for March 2025 from the HLFS recorded 167,300 people as being officially unemployed. The impact on their families, whānau and communities is left unsaid when such figures are reported. Adding to the silence, is that nuances underpinning the HLFS number tend also to be omitted when considering the impact of such figures.
In particular, to be included and counted as officially unemployed, a person must
have no paid job, and
is of working age (over 15 years of age), and
is available for work, and
is actively seeking work, or
has a new job to start within the next four weeks.
Further, actively seeking work means someone who has used job search methods other than only looking in newspapers and/or on the internet.
This means that there are others who are also jobless, but are not included in the officially unemployed total of 167,300. A count of these additional jobless people are also captured in the HLFS, with this additional information illustrated in the following chart.
The dark-coloured solid bars represent those officially unemployed, totalling 167,300 in March 2025. Noticeably, the other categories on this chart are similarly large.
The light-coloured solid bars show there were another 106,000 in March this year who wanted a job but were not actively seeking work; or were indeed actively seeking work but were not immediately available. Reasons vary, but can include
not having transport or childcare arrangements to attend interviews
having whānau responsibilities to attend to
requiring medical support to manage stress associated with seeking work
disillusionment with the lack of jobs being offered
Adding in the official number, this makes a total of 273,300 people without jobs. That’s a lot of people, not to mention the impact on their family, whānau, and community. This time last year the comparable figure was 245,500.
Unfortunately, this is not the end of this sad story. In March this year there were another 127,700 people (the diagonal-stripe bars) already employed in part-time positions but who were willing and available to work more hours. Last year, this figure was 119,000.
Putting all these together, there were 401,000 people either jobless or wanting more hours than their current employment offered. Noticeably, this is much higher than the 167,000 officially unemployed.
MSD Work and Income data
Turning to the second aspect, Work and Income (a division of the Ministry of Social Development (MSD)) administer and distribute Jobseeker Support (JS) payments. Note that JS was previously known as the Unemployment Benefit until 2013 when it was replaced by JS alongside a sweep of other welfare payment changes. As noted earlier, this payment is also referred by some as - mostly in a disparaging tone - ‘the dole’.
Importantly, the criteria for the receipt of JS payments is different to the conditions and definitions underpinning Tatauranga Aotearoa HLFS data. Consequently, it is not surprising that there are differences in the numbers of people without jobs from these two data sources.
The rates of payments vary depending on individual circumstances, ranging from $268.13 to $361.32 per week3. An individual may earn income up to a maximum of $160 per week (before tax), and receive JS payments. Each $ earned above $160 per week results in that individual’s JS payment reducing by 70 cents.
For example, a person is in a casual position and got $160 last week before tax, which becomes $140.53 in the hand after tax and ACC deductions. Adding in a JS payment of $361.32, this person had a total of $501.85 for last week.
However, taking on an extra hour (at the minimum wage of $23.50) in their casual position this week, they get $183.50. This becomes $161.17 in the hand this week. However, their JS payment is reduced to $344.874, so that this person enjoys a total of $506.04 for this week.
For one hour’s extra work, this person gains $4.19 in the hand.
And, yet, recipients of JS payments are castigated and pilloried by many as being lazy and not wanting to work. Worse, the system is imposing even more penalties on our people and their communities if they do not seek and take up work when offered.
But who (or how many) are (or would be) willing to work for $4.19 per hour?
Work and Income reports 209,838 individuals receiving JS benefit as of March 2025. This figure has risen by 21,849 over the past 12 months from 187,989, as illustrated in the following chart.
It is noticeable that the numbers depicted in this figure are much smaller than those depicted in the earlier chart. To enable a valid comparison, the vertical axis in both charts are the same - ranging from 0 to 450,000.
In summary, in March 2025 there were
273,300 people jobless
167,300 people officially unemployed
106,000 people classes as other jobless because they did not meet the criteria for being officially unemployed
209,838 people receiving Jobseeker Support payments
127,700 people employed in part-time positions wanting to work more hours
For comparison, the figures for March 2024 were
245,500 people jobless
143,500 people officially unemployed
102,000 people classes as other jobless because they did not meet the criteria for being officially unemployed
a total of 187,989 people receiving Jobseeker Support payments
119,000 people employed in part-time positions wanting to work more hours
But there is no doubt that both unemployment and JS numbers - the one’s used by most media and headlines writers - understate the true measure of those without jobs, or in part-time jobs searching for more.
Bluntly, there are people without jobs who are not included in the measure of official unemployment.
And there are others with part-time jobs who want more work
And there are many people who are not eligible for Jobseeker Support payments. They will be reliant on others for financial support (as well as for emotional care, pastoral guidance, and community assistance).
Economists (and others) view each of the above measures as relevant indicators of the state of the labour market - in terms of people in paid employment and those looking for work and those requiring assistance. But their relevance must recognise the inherent shortcomings and restrictions of each of the data sources, including different definitions and categorisations.
More importantly, we must never forget that these numbers represent people, their families, whānau and their communities experiencing harm and in distress.
I acknowledge and respect their dignity and resilience in the face of an unforgiving system that has been devised and designed by those who wish to preserve and protect their privileged positions.
This survey has a sample size covering 15,000 households with responses from approximately 30,000 individuals aged 15 and over. It is collected every 3 months and has been in operation since 1986.
To be precise, there are two types of JS payments – one labelled ‘Work Ready’, and another called ‘Health Condition and Disability’. The numbers provided are the total of both types of JS payments. There are significant differences between the two types, but that is for a another article.
Rates of payments stated are after tax (in the hand) assuming tax code “M”. Excludes other payments the individual may be eligible for - e.g. Accommodation Supplement.
That is, a reduction of $16.45 = 0.7 multiplied by the $23.50 of extra income above $160.