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Just-released March 2026 ethnic data shows Māori form the largest group of dependent unemployed people.
At the end of March 2026, 48,261 Māori were receiving a Job Seeker-Work Ready benefit (Job Seeker-Health Condition/Disability is a separate category for those considered temporarily unemployed due to illness). NZ Europeans followed at 43,626. Pacific people occupy third place at 19,005. Asians trail back at 6,840 with Middle Eastern/Latin American/African people numbering 2,178.
There is a prevalent school of thought that believes immigrants are heavily welfare-dependent. Apart from Pacific people, that’s wrong.
Most immigrants have relatively high employment levels.
Yes, refugees tend to require welfare initially and sometimes longer. But New Zealand’s refugee quota is fairly small at 1,500 annually.
When it comes to those who could be working, Māori are massively over-represented.
Whilst colonisation continues to be blamed for Māori ‘disadvantage’, every year thousands of immigrants come to New Zealand and make a contribution. Often the cards are stacked against them, but they don’t have any useful excuses for failing.
Immigrants pull their weight. And I am thankful for them.
This article was originally published on the author’s blog.
