The number of New Zealanders receiving a benefit jumped up 7,694 in just a week, with 5.8 per cent of working aged people on the jobseeker benefit as of April 17.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson said it was a sign of the number of job losses, but said it was a smaller hit than was being seen overseas.
People on the jobseeker benefit had increased by 30,000 since March 20, with Mr Robertson saying it was "a distressing time for all those people".
"We have to bear in mind though that this represents less than 1 per cent of our total population and is dwarfed by the 1.6 million people who are being supported by the wage subsidy scheme,
"These immediate measures mean we are all in a better position to bounce back on the other side of this crisis."
The Ministry of Social Development released its monthly data on April 9, with figures up to March 27 showing a monthly increase in benefits of 4866, with the yearly change up 23,545 compared to the same period in 2019.
Overall, 309,995 New Zealanders were receiving a main benefit as of March 27, 2020.
From the Ministry of Social Development's weekly data release , the number of working-aged people receiving a main benefit now sits at 335,457, as of April 17.
People receiving the jobseeker benefit sat at 174,630 as of last week - reaching only 130,319 the same time last year.
Those on the emergency benefit was at 1,672, up from 1,018 compared to last year.
The special needs grants for food had a decrease of 2,784 compared to April 10 this year. Overall the grants were 67,188 as of April 17, compared to 14,777 last year.
It comes as the country prepares to bring back some businesses under Level 3 next week.
"As we move into Level 3, we will see more parts of the economy open up - construction, forestry, manufacturing, online retail of restaurants, cafes that can provide contactless pick up and delivery.
"All will be able to resume activity with the appropriate safety measures in place, this means around 400,000 more New Zealanders will return to work under these conditions providing a real boost to them and their communities," Mr Robertson said.
He also promoted buying locally.
"If people make a conscious decision to support a local business, a local retailer, that will make a huge difference to those people when they come back out of a period of time when they have found it very difficult."
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