More than 600 unemployed people have taken up a government work offer to relocate to Christchurch since the scheme began in July, Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says.
The rebuild has lowered unemployment to well below the national average. Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
Under the 3K to Christchurch scheme, 523 men and 110 women have received the $3000 payment as an incentive to take up a full-time job in Christchurch. Of those, 204 were aged between 16 and 24.
The greatest uptake has been in the construction sector, with 350 positions, followed by transport, warehousing and manufacturing.
A spokesperson for Ms Tolley said 32 people had been classified as no-shows and a further 12 had been referred to the fraud unit.
The Government is considering extending the scheme beyond Christchurch, the spokesperson said.
