The Government's offer to subsidise youth wages has resulted in 55 jobs being taken up and 79 more about to be filled, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said today.
Ms Bennett told Parliament that employers had so far offered 414 jobs under the Job Ops programme announced by the Government a fortnight ago.
Under the policy employers can get a $5000 wage subsidy over six months if they hire a young person.
Ms Bennett gave as an example a restaurant which had been planning to hire one youth, but was now taking on two because of the subsidy.
There had also been 119 expressions of interest in the Community Max scheme.
Under this scheme, groups can put up projects to do good works in the community with the Government paying the minimum wage for 30 hours a week for six months and a $1250 training payment paid to the community group.
Ms Bennett said one example was a proposal to hire five people to restore a marae in Rotorua.
The number of people who could be hired under the policy would not become clear until the proposals were evaluated, a spokeswoman for Ms Bennett said.
When Prime Minister John Key announced the policies at the National Party in conference he said the Government would spend $20 million on the Job Ops programme to give 4000 low-skilled people a job.
Another $40.3 million scheme would be spent on the Community Max get 3000 people places in community programmes.
The number of unemployed youth rose from 4000 last June to 17,000 this June and most are predicting that unemployment will rise from 5 percent to 8 percent by the end of the year.
But the picture is worse for those aged under 20 with unemployment running at 14.3 percent and it could continue to increase ahead of general unemployment by a rate of three to one.
If this happens, one-in-five youths will be out of work by December.
At his party conference Mr Key announced nine youth employment plans in total.
The largest amount of money - $52.7 million - is to create 2000 new places for 16 and 17-year-olds not engaged in school to study at polytechs.
