A Northland woman who was unemployed for two years before landing a job had applied for three jobs every week during her lengthy job hunt but only got calls back for about six of them.
Kirimoana Tangira had been on the unemployment benefit during those two years but on Monday she began her "dream job" as a fulltime NCEA Level 2 Maori tutor at People Potential Whangarei. She said finding the job was difficult as many of the positions advertised required special skill sets.
"It was quite difficult searching for work. There were few available that suited my skills and knowledge."
The latest Statistics New Zealand figures for the region show a record drop in Northland unemployment in the March quarter, falling 1.5 per cent from 9.9 per cent in the March 2015 quarter to 8.4 per cent in the March 2016 quarter. However despite the drop, Northland still has the highest unemployment rate in the country, along with the Gisborne/Hawke's Bay region, with 6700 people looking for work in the region.
Ms Tangira, 20, said she took up any opportunities that might have led her into a job. She attended Work and Income seminars and landed casual work at Kmart as a result. She also attended workshops and courses and did work experience wherever she could. But she became a little disheartened after applying for several jobs and rarely hearing back.