‘Jobseekers’ drop by 4% in Nelson

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The number of people on the “jobseeker” benefit has dropped by four per cent in Nelson, the second-largest decrease in the country.

Nationally, the numbers on jobseeker benefits rose by 0.2 per cent to 117,134 in the year to March, the first year-on-year increase for six years, according to figures released by Social Development Minister Anne Tolley today.

But the turnaround was mainly due to the wind-down in Canterbury, where jobseekers jumped from 7701 a year ago to 9100, the highest March figure since the current jobseeker benefit was created in 2013, reported the New Zealand Herald.

Numbers dropped by 1.1 per cent in the rest of the country, including an impressive 7.3 per cent fall in Auckland which is experiencing a building boom.

Nelson enjoyed the second-biggest drop with 4 per cent, followed by the Bay of Plenty on 3.7 per cent.

Tasman had a slight increase in the number of people on the jobseeker benefit, up by 0.8 per cent.