The government shelled out more than $4.3 million in unemployment benefits to just over 2,000 people during the first half of this year, according to the Department of Statistics.
That's slightly less than the $4.7 million it paid out to nearly 3,000 people during the preceding six months.
According to the National Insurance Board (NIB) report, which was released this month, a total of 14,430 people claimed NIB benefits up to the second quarter of this year. Of those, 2,086 people received the unemployment benefit.
Sickness benefits, maternity benefits, funeral benefits, sickness assistance and industrial injury benefits are among the benefits that NIB contributors claimed.
The data shows that $6.2 million was paid to 8,907 people in sickness benefits; over $3 million was paid to 1,546 people in maternity benefits; $1.3 million was paid to 815 in funeral benefits; $697,000 was paid in sickness assistance to three people; and $1.7 million was paid to 1,073 people in industrial injury benefits.
NIB paid out a total of $17,172,896 in short term benefits to 14,430 people during that period.
Similar figures were recorded during the previous six months.
During that period, NIB paid out $17,372,666 to 14,661 people in the second half of 2013.
A breakdown of the data shows that $6.2 million was paid to 8,302 people in sickness benefits; $3.5 million was paid to 1,703 people in maternity benefits; $1.2 million was paid to 753 in funeral benefits; $982,000 was paid in sickness assistance to two people; and $1.5 million was paid to 1,002 people in industrial injury benefits.
NIB also paid out $88 million in long-term benefits and another $12,442,863 in industrial benefits during the first half of 2014.
Long-term benefits include retirement, invalidity and survivors' contributory pension as well as old age invalidity and survivors' assistance pension, as well as disablement benefits and grants, industrial death, injury benefits and medical care.
During the 2013/14 fiscal year, NIB paid out $228,958,184 in short-term, industrial and long term benefits and collected $233,589,542 in contributions, according to the data.
In 2012, NIB collected $203,044,319 in contributions and paid out $199,807,913.
Former NIB Actuary Derek Osborne told Guardian Business last month that changes must be made at the fund in order to avoid very high NIB contribution rates in the future.
"Costs are increasing at a faster rate than revenues," he said. "And so to avoid very high contribution rates in the future, a few things need to be changed. The three main ones are reducing the cost of administration, diversifying the fund's investments and improving governance practices at all levels."
While still at NIB in 2013, Osbourne projected that the fund would become insolvent in 2029 unless changes were made.

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