Trebling of long-term unemployment makes a mockery of Key’s benefit spin

Annette King  |  Tuesday, February 9, 2010 - 15:50

Figures showing the number of long-term unemployed has almost trebled in a year make a mockery of John Key’s pledges to reduce long-term welfare dependency, says Labour Deputy Leader Annette King said today.

“National went into the last election pledging to reduce welfare dependency and John Key today used his annual Prime Minister’s Statement to Parliament to deliver the same rhetoric.

“But last week’s HLFS figures show the opposite has happened under this Government. In just a year the total number of long-term unemployed ( those unemployed for longer than 26 weeks) has soared from 14,800 to 40,500 people.

“The figures (link attached below) also show that the number of people unemployed for over two years has more than trebled,” says Annette King.

“The latest benefit figures, slipped out today, do nothing to alleviate this gloomy trend. They show an additional 2041 people signed up to the unemployment benefit in January, bringing the total number of people on the unemployment benefit to 68,369 – more than double the number on the benefit a year ago.

“John Key and his Social Development Minister Paula Bennett can talk all they want about reducing welfare dependency, but the facts tell a completely contradictory story and they need to front up and explain this,” says Annette King.

“In his speech John Key claimed there would be a $10 million saving if just 100 DPB recipients were assisted into work. Yet he and Paula Bennett axed most of the Training Incentive Allowance which was specifically designed to get those beneficiaries qualifications to help them get a job.

“In the 2008/09 year 12,712 sole parents used the allowance to do just that. That’s hundreds of millions of dollars of potential savings – the point Labour has made all along.

“And in the last year there’s been a 10,000 increase in the number of people on the DPB – again we’re going backwards,” Annette King says.

“In light of these facts and the on-going failure of an economic plan to stimulate jobs, I’d be very interested to hear exactly how John Key and Paula Bennett actually plan to assist benefit recipients into work?”