The government recently announced means-testing parents before their 18 or 19-year old can get a benefit.
From November next year, teenage adults will not be entitled to Jobseeker Support if their parents combined income is more than $65,000.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon defended the move telling RNZ “go to the South Island… in the primary industries… they’re crying out for young people to come and join those sectors and those jobs”.
“Often what happens, people will take a job, they don’t stick with it for longer than a couple of days, they don’t show up on time,” Luxon said.
TradeMe’s latest quarterly jobs report showed an improvement on last quarter with the South Island leading the charge for new job listings.
But nationally listings were still slightly down on this time last year.
South Islanders on Jobseeker Support were also up.
In the September quarter 36,834 South Islanders were on Jobseeker Support – 2.7% higher than the same quarter last year, 15.6% higher than the same quarter in 2023 before the last election and the highest September quarter since 2020 in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some South Island employers told RNZ that few jobs opportunities existed in the south and where they did they were concentrated in certain sectors and often required skills or experience.
Others said job seekers needed to improve their attitude before improving their job prospects.
Happi Aulakh, owner of Noble 600 Bar and Restaurant in Ashburton, said he had a waiting list of 10 people wanting a job, but no work to offer them.
“If you are looking for a starting [level] job, either it’s really hard or either you aren’t getting enough hours,” he said.
Ziggy Shaw, of Armadillos Ashburton, said the South Island group of restaurants was seeking staff from entry-level to senior and skilled positions.
“There’s definitely work down, there’s definitely jobs for everyone if you want to work,” he said.
“Obviously if you want to do 10 hours and stay on the benefit, there’s no work for you. But if you want to work, there’s definitely work.”
But there were plenty of For Lease and For Sale signs hanging in commercial window fronts around Ashburton and few Help Wanted signs.
Both men acknowledged it was a tough time to be doing business in Mid Canterbury.
In Central Otago, even if young people could find work then there were other potential barriers.
“The issue that we’re having is that it’s just too expensive for people to rent a house,” Cromwell audio and appliance store owner Gary Anderson said.
There was work available for qualified trades people, as well as seasonal jobs in the orchards and vineyards.
In the neighbouring Clutha district, it was a similar story with certain sectors offering work.
