More support for Kiwis left jobless by COVID-19

From June 8, people searching for work or retraining can receive 490 dollars a week if they've lost full-time work - and 250 for part-timers.

The payment will be available for 12 weeks.

It's similar to schemes introduced during the Canterbury earthquakes and Global Financial Crisis.

It's forecast to cost about 570 million dollars - made up of 1.2 billion dollars in payments, offset by 635 million dollars in saved benefit payments.