10. Question No. 10—Social Development and EmploymentHon LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō) to the Minister for Social Development and EmploymentQuestion No. 10—Social Development and Employment10. Hon LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō) to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: How many people if any were on jobseeker support for two years or more in the December 2017 quarter and how does this compare to the equivalent figures in the December 2021 quarter?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment): Jobseeker support is there for New Zealanders who need it and qualify. As at the end of December 2017 there were a total of 48582 receiving jobseeker support for longer than two years. Of those 29031 received a health and disability exemption and 19551 were considered work-ready. As at December 2021 there were 77928 receiving a jobseeker benefit for two years or more. Of those 45165 received the health and disability exemption and 32763 were considered work-ready—a difference of 13212 work-ready clients on jobseeker. We have come through COVID-19 in much better shape than we did the global financial crisis (GFC) due to the Government's quick actions. We're now seeing more people move off benefit and into employment than any time since electronic records began. This trend has continued in the first quarter of the year and I'm looking forward to the Ministry of Social Development publishing the March quarter results later this month.Hon Louise Upston: Why when businesses are crying out for staff did fewer people who had been receiving a benefit for longer than three years move into employment in 2021 compared to 2017?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: The exits off benefit into employment have been the highest that we've seen since electronic records were kept. Last year 119700 people moved off benefit into work; in 2017 that was 79737 people. Currently we have about 11.1 percent of our working-age population on benefit; that compares to I think 13.2 percent of the working-age population that were on benefit two years after the GFC.Hon Louise Upston: What was the unemployment rate after the GFC compared to now?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: I think it was certainly higher than 3.2 percent which we have been able to achieve. If we look at the actual numbers of the general population that are on benefit or are jobseeker support work-ready it's about 3.2 percent as well but that's of course not the working-age population.Hon Louise Upston: How can the Government claim that its employment initiatives have been anything but a complete failure when fewer long-term benefit recipients have been supported into work every single year under Labour compared to 2017?Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: I have been clear about the numbers of people who have been supported into work. The evidence is there to show that we have supported more people off benefit into work than what has been seen since electronic records have been kept. We as a Government have been focused on making sure that when we do support people off benefit it actually is into employment. The outcome or the success is not just about getting the person off benefit with no consideration for where they've gone. I think that there will be good news when the quarterly results come out because already looking at it what we're seeing at the end of March is probably about 20000 fewer people on benefit compared to December 2021. Given what we've gone through I think that's something for us as a Government to be proud of.