They are not to be confused with people on the Supported Living Payment benefit who have a permanent or significant health condition, injury or disability and do not have the same obligations to look for work.
Work is about more than money, and many job-seekers with health conditions want to be working to give them a sense of purpose and in order to enjoy the social connection of a workplace.
As the responsible minister, I am steering the welfare system towards focusing on what people can do, rather than what they can’t, which is why I don’t put an “incapable” label on anyone seeking work.
Sepuloni is also hung up on what she sees as a small number of young people predicted to spend 24 years on a benefit because she was prepared to stand by and watch the potential of young New Zealanders go to waste.
Three-thousand young Kiwis might be small relative to the total beneficiary population, but they deserve to be thought of as more than just a data blip. They deserve a government that’s going to say that’s not okay and support them, so they don’t end up spending a quarter-century on welfare.
And if the former minister wants to talk about other beneficiaries, let’s do that. The average time someone under 25 is expected to be supported by a main benefit over their lifetime is now more than 21 years. For those young people on Jobseeker Support it’s 19 years, and for all 108,294 Jobseekers who are “work-ready”, it’s 13 years.
These forecasts were produced for the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) by actuaries Taylor Fry during the former minister’s time in charge, and when the Herald reported on them earlier this year, she said she couldn’t remember them. She should read them now, because they paint a troubling picture of how welfare dependency gripped this country under the previous government.
Another uncomfortable truth is that after signing up for the benefit, job-seekers can go many months without meeting with MSD to talk about their search for work.
About 188,000 people currently receive some type of Jobseeker Support but only about 53,000 of them have employment case managers. Prior to our changes, the rest could go as long as a year without any further interaction with MSD, and only be seen again when it was time to reapply for the benefit.
This is why we’ve introduced new requirements for job-seekers to meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting and again after six months, to make sure they are taking the right steps and getting the right support from MSD to find work.
Somehow, the Opposition sees these moves to make the welfare system more proactive about helping job-seekers as “bashing” and “demonising” them.
At these seminars, they are being helped to apply for jobs or polish up their CVs, or booked into training courses that can help them learn new skills. This is hardly kicking beneficiaries when they are down.
Sepuloni is right, though, about life on a benefit. It’s not comfortable. That’s why we’ve set also a target to reduce the number of people on Jobseeker Support over six years, helping all who can work into work, and reducing benefit dependency for the next generation.
Yes, we expect job-seekers to be making an effort, but we also want a welfare system that actively supports them in their search. A welfare system that backs them even when they may not back themselves.
A little can-do attitude goes a long way.
