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Budget 2010 - Extra employment assistance

The Government is investing an additional $61.1 million over the next two years to support New Zealanders into work through funding frontline staff and employment initiatives. This funding includes:

  • $26.7 million ($16.7 million net) in 6,000 extra Job Ops places for disadvantaged young people in the 2010/11 financial year.
  • $21.8 million over two years to continue to pay for extra frontline Work and Income staff hired last year to help reduce unemployment levels.
  • $12.6 million top-up for more employment assistance for the 2010/11 financial year.

The New Zealand economy is recovering from the impact of the global recession and it is now time to increase the investment in employment assistance to help those on benefits get back into work. This complements the Government's Future Focus package announced in March which aims to help New Zealanders reach their potential and improve the lives of individuals, families and communities.

The focus of this additional employment assistance will be on supporting the long-term unemployed and Maori and Pacific peoples. The additional investment will allow the Government to:

  • Focus on preventing and reducing long-term unemployment by providing more work focused support and activities for long-term beneficiaries, at more regular intervals using programmes such as Taskforce Green. Taskforce Green provides partial wage subsidies for beneficiaries to participate in community projects and has proven to be effective in improving employment outcomes.
  • Provide more Industry Partnerships using programmes like Straight to Work. These programmes have a high take up by Maori and Pacific peoples and provide good value for money. The investment will help form more partnerships with industries with good growth potential such as the tourism, aged care and food and beverage industries.
  • Encourage employers to take on disadvantaged beneficiaries. The additional funding will allow us to invest in more Skill Investment Subsidies, which provide an incentive for employers to take on disadvantaged jobseekers by making a temporary contribution to their wages and training to help them access and maintain employment.