Beneficiaries sitting pre-employment drug tests continue to produce a tiny failure rate.

Photo: Wikipedia

In the last six months of 2016, more than 18,000 beneficiaries were sent for drug tests and 80 failed.

The Ministry of Social Development said the number of failed tests included cases where beneficiaries didn't turn up to be tested.

It said only 54 sanctions were applied to peoples' benefits for failing the test.

Over the previous three years, nearly 95,000 beneficiaries were drug tested - and only 450 failed or didn't turn up.

That's a failure rate of one in every 200.

In February, the Prime Minister, Bill English, defended record immigration levels saying businesses keep telling him that New Zealanders aren't passing drug tests and jobs can't be filled locally.