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New Zealand’s economy—beset by falling GDP, government austerity, and a near-recession caused by the Reserve Bank’s efforts to tame inflation—has seen the number of people receiving benefits exceed Budget forecasts.
At the same time, a new report from the Ministry of Social Development says young people could remain unemployed for as long as 20 years.
The number of years all beneficiaries are expected to remain dependent on the state remains well above historical levels. The Ministry estimates that people will, on average, spend 13.4 years receiving a benefit, 26 percent higher than in 2017.
While that represents a slight decrease from the 13.6-year projection in 2022, the report concedes it is partly due to “a slight increase in the proportion of people earning at or above the equivalent of working 20 hours per week at the minimum wage.” Thus, new jobs are mainly part-time and low-paid, but they are just enough to keep some people from eligibility for government assistance….