Parents to support teens on benefits as jobs get harder to find

From November 2026, parents earning over $65,000 a year must help support their 18 to 19-year-old children who are on the unemployment benefit. The government is also making it harder to qualify for that benefit. Stats NZ figures show unemployment rose to 5.6 percent in the June 2026 quarter — near an 11-year high — with 171,000 people out of work.