Paula Bennett

Wellington, July 14 NZPA - The number of people on the unemployment benefit rose by about 2000 in June, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said today.

The number of people on any welfare benefit rose by 1.1 percent.

"We knew recovering from a recession would be a long and bumpy road, but there are pockets of success," Ms Bennett said.

Auckland and Wellington fared well in June with the numbers on benefits dropping 2.9 percent and 1.4 percent respectively, she said.

"Clearly big urban areas like Auckland are an important part of the recovery picture. Hit first and worst, cities tend to recover first too."

The increase in the numbers receiving the unemployment benefit was expected, due in large part to seasonal work coming to an end, she said.

As of June there were 332,924 people on benefits, with 62,085 of them on the unemployment benefit.