Woman says she’s applied for 400 jobs as unemployment reaches four-year high

By Louise Ternouth of RNZ

Choosing between putting food on the table or paying essential bills while applying for hundreds of jobs – and not hearing back.

That is the reality for many of the people who have found themselves out of work as they compete for a scarcity of available jobs.

According to the latest Stats NZ employment data, out today, unemployment rose to 5.1% in the three months ended December – the highest level since 2020.

Among the 156,000 unemployed are thousands of workers culled in the coalition Government’s programme of public sector cuts.

Suzanne George is 35 and has been job hunting for over a year in Wellington.

Prior to that, she worked for 12 years in the public sector in various roles.

She has applied for about 400 jobs in the past 13 months.

Suzanne George has been job hunting for over a year in Wellington. Photo / 123rf

“Demoralising wouldn’t even be the word for it. You genuinely cannot live, you’re often having to choose between feeding yourself or being able to pay your essential bills.”

George is on the Jobseeker Support benefit which is $353 a week, not enough for her to get by on. She has had to make a KiwiSaver hardship withdrawal to help.

She was originally hoping to look for an admin or adviser role but because of a dearth of vacancies she has started applying for jobs in everything from retail to hospitality.

“I went from earning six figures, so that in itself has been a huge shift for me. I think it’s also done a number on my mental health I won’t deny that, the constant rejection and ghosting every time [means] I feel like I just get left to sit and rot.”

Ministry of Social Development figures for the December 2024 quarter deemed more than half of the 213,000 people on the jobseeker support benefit “work-ready”.

Meanwhile, the number of job ads is down, falling 27% in the year to December, according to Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment data.

‘The average for every job that I’ve applied for is around 100 people'

Brie, 27, has been job hunting for six months, hoping to get something in admin or pastoral care.

“Often jobs pop up on Seek and you’ll apply for them and you don’t hear back. The other thing is that you can then click after you’ve applied for a job and you see how many people have applied and the average for every job that I’ve applied for is around 100 people.”

When we speak she has just had an interview, the first she has had after applying for 35 jobs.

“It’s very unusual to even hear back from a job at this point, the majority of people who are on Jobseeker don’t enjoy being unemployed, want employment and they’re going out and trying to find it.

“Getting so many doors in your face, it can take a big toll and no matter how many times you try and try, the way it looks at the moment, there’s just not really much out there.”

Brie is able to access an accommodation supplement on top of the Jobseeker benefit, but it does not stretch far in Wellington’s rental market.

She delays going to the supermarket as much as possible.

Te Kapua Aranga is a 31-year-old student looking for part-time work while he studies to become a barber.

“I have been applying for jobs since last year in March and over the course of last year leading up until now I’ve applied for 150 jobs in hospitality and construction. I’ve also put my CV out to places such as recruitment agencies.”

Of the 150 jobs Aranga has applied for over almost a year, the first interview he got was three weeks ago, but he then received an email saying the company was no longer hiring.

He is on the Jobseeker Support benefit but when his barber training classes start in a few weeks he’ll be on a student allowance, which is about $10 less a week.

“It is pretty tough though, from week to week I’m finding it really hard to buy the essentials you know, food, even got to a point where I have to go to the soup kitchen here based in Wellington to get a food parcel.”

He’s pinning his hopes on study to navigate the tough employment market and land his dream job.

For others, the search continues.

- RNZ

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