Bay of Plenty job advertisements. Photo / Andrew Warner
Bay of Plenty job advertisements. Photo / Andrew Warner
He studied science at university to a masters level, but for one 28-year-old finding a job has proved harder than he imagined.
And a local budget advisory service says the economic challenges due to Covid-19 are only just beginning.
One of the support payments the Government brought in this yearwas the 12-week Covid-19 Income Relief, to help those who lost jobs between March and the end of October.
The payment provided up to $490 per week for people who had been working 30-plus hours per week and $250 per week for those working between 15 and 29 hours per week but applications for it closed last Friday.
At peak demand, 1430 people were receiving the payments in July in the Bay of Plenty.
As of last month, 493 people were still receiving those payments in the region.
The 28-year-old man, who wanted to remain anonymous, was one of them. He has been looking for work in Tauranga since losing his job in lockdown but did not find a new role during the 12-week payment period so has been on the Jobseeker benefit since.
He said finding a new job had been harder than expected.
"There doesn't seem to be as much out there. The market seems to be a bit saturated ... I've had a few interviews but not as many as I was hoping."
He said the 12-week relief payment had been "really helpful".
"I think it was something they needed to do because so many people did lose their jobs directly because of Covid-19 ... I think the actions taken were the right ones."
Ministry of Social Development figures given to RNZ showed there had been about 38,000 of the relief payments to the end of October.
They estimate almost 23,000 people have come to the end of the Covid-19 income relief payment without finding a job.
The Ministry for Social Development's latest data shows the number of Bay of Plenty people aged between 18 and 64, receiving Jobseeker support, rose 2.6 per cent between June and September, to 9.2 per cent or 16,930 people.
Tauranga Budget Advisory Services has had a significant rise in clients coming in this year, after losing jobs or having hours reduced because of Covid-19 economic pressures.
Manager Shirley McCombe told the Bay of Plenty Times, "The challenges are only just beginning and the economic repercussions will impact our communities for many years.
"Sometimes it is the partner who has lost part-time hours and their additional income may be the difference between the family surviving financially or not.
"People live to their means and we would all struggle if our incomes were suddenly reduced," she said.
"Very few of our clients have savings available for them to fall back on."
However, McCombe said the Government's financial support "has been a lifesaver for many clients".
"The good news is there is help available and I would say to people not to be afraid to reach out. We need to work together as a community to support each other, and that includes making sure that no one falls through the gaps."
Last week alone the service provided more than 100 sessions across Tauranga.
"We have taken on additional staff and have been given funding for an additional 400 sessions per year."
At this time of year, the services are often addressing Christmas spending concerns with clients, and this continues into the new year "when debts are due and children are returning to school".
"This is always a difficult time of year but this year my concern is that our clients will start 2021 well behind the eight ball."
Salvation Army director of community ministries, Jono Bell. Photo / Supplied
In a statement this week, Salvation Army director of community ministries Jono Bell said the Covid-19 relief payment cut-off was one of the reasons why the charity expected a 20 per cent increase in demand nationwide for support with Christmas food and gifts this year.
"Increasingly, our clients are severely stressed and anxious about how to get through the festive season, and, beyond that, what the future holds."
He said nationwide, 92 per cent of clients who used the charity's financial mentoring service had incomes of less than $50,000 a year, with 22 per cent earning less than $20,000 a year.
"The pressure on our clients and their whānau to make ends meet is enormous, and Covid-19 has added more uncertainty."
A Ministry of Social Development spokesman said some of those who received the relief payments and had not found work, would not be eligible for the Jobseeker benefit if they had chosen to study, or retrain if their household income level was above the threshold, or they were superannuation recipients.
"People may be eligible for alternative support despite not being eligible for Jobseeker. We encourage anyone in need of support to contact us so we can discuss their circumstances and provide help."
Who is needing work in the Bay of Plenty?
• About a third are aged 25 to 39 • One in three have a health condition or disability • More than half are Māori and about a third are of European descent Source: Stats NZ data for April to June 2020
