ISSUE #7: Poverty

KPI: Adults on a Main Benefit

Source: Ministry of Social Development

AKA: inequality, equality

Key notes

  1. There is no single measure of poverty, and we couldn't use any of the 9 measures of child poverty that were spoken about most by the previous Labour-led Government, or their all-ages equivalent, so we have led with the main measurement of requiring financial help - main benefits.
  2. We believe that the seasonality spikes shown are the students finishing their secondary or tertiary study years who then move onto a main benefit. We have asked MSD for confirmation.
  3. Remember that each Labour-led or National-led government has had coalition partners that share the successes, and the failures, with them. A full list of governments for this time range is at the bottom of this page.

Data sources

Data shown:

  • % of working-age adults (18-64) on a main benefit at the end of each quarter.
  • 2008 Q3 onwards, as that is when this time series begun

Full data:


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