Department of Social Services figures show that 3026 people in Wagga claimed the JobSeeker unemployment payments from Centrelink last month, a number almost unchanged from the 3029 people a month before.

The city's unemployment payments peaked at 3750 per month in May last year.

Wagga had seen an average of 41 people per month leaving the welfare system since August and its current level of unemployment payments is 35 per cent higher than before the first coronavirus lockdown last year.

Business NSW Murray Riverina regional manager Anthony McFarlane said reductions in the amount of money paid to unemployed people at the end of March would hopefully remove a "disincentive to work".

"There is certainly not as big an incentive as there was," he said.

"I would have thought that the more interesting number will be April's result and, anecdotally, we are hearing that more people are coming forward for jobs in retail and hospitality."

March was the last month for businesses to claim JobKeeper wage subsidies and the last month that unemployed people received an extra $150 per fortnight from Centrelink via the coronavirus supplement to JobSeeker payments.

The coronavirus supplement had effectively doubled unemployment payments height of the pandemic to $1100 per fortnight but that figure was cut back in stages.

From April 1, most unemployed people have been receiving about $50 more per fortnight under JobSeeker than under Centrelink's pre-pandemic Newstart Allowance.

St Vincent de Paul Wagga Central Council president Peter Burgess said the charity group had seen more people coming forward for help, including some people he had not seen since the start of the pandemic.

"Our activity has increased a great deal. It has been particularly noticeable this month and towards the end of last month, particularly up at Micah Hub," he said.

"We are starting to that see some of the people who came in before are now coming back , people who would have enjoyed the increase in JobSeeker and they're now starting to come back out.

"They don't have that space to breathe, There are people who spent the money wisely and some who didn't, that's just human nature, but we've notice a real uptake in the past two or three weeks."

The Riverina region including Wagga saw the exact same number of people claiming unemployment payments with 6580 people in both February and March.

Some areas saw a decrease in unemployment payment numbers, such as Leeton, Tumbarumba, Cootamundra and Tumut.

However, that progress was offset by rising unemployment payments in Griffith, Narrandera, Temora and Gundagai.

Mr McFarlane said the Australian Bureau of Statistics had calculated the Riverina's 12-month average unemployment rate at 4 per cent, which was below the NSW average of 6.4 per cent.

"Riverina has got the second-lowest figure in the state, Central West is the only area lower at 3.8 per cent" he said.

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