Parents say the jobseeker benefit can be a lifesaver for their families if their teenagers can not find work after high school.

From November this year, the government will end jobseeker payments for 18- and 19- year-olds whose parents earn more $67,225.

When her eldest son turned 18, solo mum Louise Hinton lost access to child support payments her family relied on.

Without his jobseeker benefit to help keep them afloat, she said they would not have survived.

"When he went from 17 to 18, I lost $300 a week in child support and family assistance. If he couldn't get the benefit, I probably would've lost my house."

Her eldest child moved to Australia after struggling to find work in New Zealand, and her 16-year-old son was contemplating the same.

"It's all good when you're sitting in your ivory tower and you think 'Oh we'll just do this, and they'll just have to get off their bums and find a job,' its like... We can't say it enough times, there are no jobs for them.

"It's like winning the lottery. Finding a part time job for a kid is like winning the lottery."

Melanie - who asked to keep her surname private - is a nurse with two children aged 18 and 20 and says the jobseeker benefit was a lifesaver for her eldest.

"My 20-year-old has been on the benefit for a long time, he's been there for two years, he's just got another job.

"The jobseeker's [benefit] was a lot of help when he was at home and needed that to help with the regular bills until he was able to get a job."

Her younger son was supporting himself, but she worried that if he lost his job and could not access the benefit, her family could be in trouble.

"If he was to lose his job for any reason, it means the expenses that are stretched for food and for power and for travel, and anything the kids have to do, it just stretches it so much more."

Aaron Hendry - the general manager of youth homelessness charity Kick Back - said thousands of young adults were in a similar position.

For many of them, moving back in with their parents was not an option.

"Some of our young people shared that they'd love to be living with their parents, but the reality is their whanau are struggling and they're just not in a position to support their 18- or 19-year-old.

"Some of those young people won't be able to return home for a variety of reasons - it may be that home is unsafe, that it's an abusive environment."

Economist Shamubeel Eaqub told RNZ’s Midday Report on Monday that cutting off vulnerable people aged 18 and 19 may scar them for life.

"All the evidence says that when you discourage people or take away resources from young people at this very difficult time, there is scarring. That their life outcomes, in terms of inclement outcomes in the future, will be worse."

Hendry said the change would cause youth homelessness to skyrocket.

"This is a dangerous policy.

"We talk often about homelessness being a political choice, and this is a really clear example of that. This is a political decision that makes our young people more vulnerable to homelessness and will increase homelessness as a result of it."

RNZ has approached Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston for comment.