Employment New Zealand News

NZ Gov’s wage subsidies support 47 per cent of Kiwis

Eliza Sayon May 10, 2022

2 min read

The New Zealand Government’s swift action to secure its economic recovery in the midst of a pandemic has seen 47 per cent of jobs in New Zealand protected by at least one of the 2021 wage subsidies.

Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni revealed that the new report on who received the Wage Subsidy last year showed that the subsidies were of critical importance in helping the economy recover from COVID-19.

“Our Government has worked hard to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on businesses and people’s jobs and livelihoods. This new report shows that the wage subsidies served to protect jobs and support businesses that might otherwise have been lost,” Minister Sepuloni said.

“While we have seen the number of people receiving the Main Benefit rise due to COVID-19, interventions like the subsidies and Government investment have meant the numbers are well below what was forecast.”

Overall, 47% of New Zealand jobs (excluding sole traders) received at least one of the 2021 wage subsidies.

In 2020, 69% of employed men and 54% of women were supported by a wage subsidy. This fell to 54% and 41% respectively in 2021. 45% of all unique jobs held by Māori (excluding sole traders) were supported by at least one of the 2021 wage subsidies. This is a similar rate to jobs held by NZ Europeans (45%) and Pacific People (43%).

“In general, patterns of 2021 wage subsidy distribution were similar to those in 2020 with jobs in some industries being more likely to need wage subsidies or multiple wage subsidies, especially the accommodation and food, and arts and recreation industries,” Minister Sepuloni said.

“That’s why the Government continued to respond as demand arose, for example, with additional support for the arts and culture sector, large-scale events and a reactivation package for Auckland. These also sat in conjunction with other support available such as the COVID-19 Income Relief Payment, Leave Support Scheme, Short-term Absence Payment and the extensions to the Wage Subsidy.”

Since businesses right across the motu are what makes Aotearoa New Zealand tick, the subsidies have been an important tool in supporting them and protecting people in nearly half of the country’s jobs.

The report looks at how the 2021 COVID-19 wage subsidies were distributed across the population and compares the results with previous research.

Source: Beehive.govt.nz

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.