What happened to people who left the benefit system during the year ended 30 June 2020

This series of reports uses anonymised cross-government data to describe what people did once they exited the benefit system – for example if they went into employment, or some form of education/training. It also follows their outcomes for 12 months after their exit.

During the year ended 30 June 2020

This year’s report focuses on the 110,200 people who left a main benefit in the year to June 2020. It describes what people did once they exited – for example if they went into employment, enrolled in a tertiary course, or began some form of industry training. This report also follows their outcomes for 12 months after their exit. This includes whether they remained off-benefit, whether they were still employed, how their income has changed or whether they are still studying.

This analysis is also broken down by age, gender, ethnicity, location, etc. Comparisons are also made against people who had left the benefit system in previous years.

Understanding what happens when people leave a main benefit, and whether and how this has changed over time, helps guide research, policy and service design which can improve the lives of individuals and their whānau.

Erratum November 2022

1. The statistic on page 61, paragraph 2 was corrected to read "Approximately 1 in 2 people (48.1 percent) who enrolled in a tertiary education course had remained off a benefit after a year." It previously read “Approximately 2 in 3 people (68.1 percent) who enrolled in a tertiary education course had remained off a benefit after a year.”