NSW has seen Australia’s fastest climb in the number of JobSeeker recipients over the past 5 years, despite the state’s success in managing the pandemic Bianca Healey (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) The number of people receiving JobSeeker has increased the most in NSW over the past five years. Information released by the Department of Social Services suggests increases to JobKeeper during the pandemic shielded people from the worst effects of the economic downturn, but did not reverse ongoing trends. NSW has seen the number of people being paid JobSeeker climb by 58% since 2016. Despite the state’s comparatively successful handling of the lockdown, the number of JobSeeker recipients in NSW climbed at the fastest rate in Australia over the past five years, according to data from the Department of Social Services.