Waikato Tainui says helping its people find work and keeping them in their rohe is extremely difficult - describing the situation as an employment quagmire.
The Maori unemployment rate in Waikato is 15.9%, according to Statistics New Zealand.
The tribe's executive arm, Te Arataura, says it's a huge bubble.
Te Arataura chair Tom Roa says it's big issue for the iwi, but there are no short-term solutions.
He says it's a concern that generations have been accustomed to living on a benefit, and generations of Waikato-Tainui people who are born and now live in Australia.
Mr Roa says there are long-term plans to provide more education for some of its people so they can find skilled and well-paid work - but they won't see for the benefits for 15 years.
