ISSUE #4: Unemployment
KPI: Adults on a Main Benefit
Source: Ministry of Social Development
AKA: employment, jobs
Key notes
- The official unemployment rate has not been used as we have concerns over how the number is calculated. More specifically, it seems to undercount the number of unemployed. For example:
- As of June 2025,12.5% of Kiwi adults were claiming a main benefit, while the official employment was was just 5.2%. While it's true that we give benefits to some people working, a significant number of unemployed Kiwis also don't claim a benefit. It's hard to see how the true unemployment rate is just 5% when 12.5% are on main benefits.
- "To be counted as 'employed' a person need only be working one or more hours a week" and this can include free work. For example, if you work for just 1 hour per week, mowing a friend’s lawn, for free, you are considered 100% employed, not 2.5% employed (1/40) and 97.5% unemployed (39/40). There is no weighting, only a binary classification whereby 1 hour of work is considered employed for the week.
- 30 hours is used to determine a full working week, not 40 hours. Again, we believe this should be pro-rated where 30 hours = 75% employed and 25% either unemployed or underutilised (unless caring for family).
- If you’re on a benefit and able to work, but not actively looking, then you don’t meet the criteria to be classified as unemployed.
- Someone actively looking, but not available for the next 4 weeks is also not considered unemployed.
- The seasonality spikes shown are in large part due to students finishing their secondary or tertiary study years who then move onto a main benefit.
- 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.
