What happened to people who left the benefit system
Published 20 September 2024
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.
What happened in the 12 months after people left the benefit system, up to June 2023
This year’s report focuses on the 137,600 people who left a main benefit in the year to June 2022. 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 people’s outcomes for 12 months after their exit, up to June 2023. This includes describing whether they remained off-benefit, stayed in employment, and how their incomes changed over that time.
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 how this has changed over time, helps guide research, policy and service design which can improve the lives of individuals and their whānau.
