Regions

Up-to-date labour market information is critical to monitoring current and historic trends in regional economies, projecting future trends, assessing the impacts of developments on regional economies and developing regional strategies. It is also important for quantitative analysis of social conditions and living standards of particular groups and communities, research into income distribution and interactions with other aspects of social policy.

Participants the Commission met with as part of the National Conversation about Work said the provision of adequate labour market information for local employment and economic planning purposes was more limited since the Department of Labour ceased providing dedicated labour information staff in the regions. The Commission raised the issue with Economic Development Agencies New Zealand (EDANZ) who agree labour market information is an issue for some regions but not all.

Tables 3 to 10 compare labour market participation rates and unemployment rates across regions5. There are limited regional differences in participation and unemployment rates for Europeans. There appear to be lower participation rates for Māori in Auckland and Waikato than in Wellington and Canterbury, and a lower participation rate for Pacific peoples in Auckland and Canterbury than in other regions. Unemployment rates for Māori and Pacific peoples are higher across all regions than for Europeans.

The population in the Auckland region is considerably larger than any other region and accounts for 31% of the national working age population (15 years and older). The Auckland region is home to 71% of all working age Pacific peoples. One third of all Māori of working age live in Auckland and the only region that has a higher number of Māori is the rest of the North Island, that is, all of the North Island except Auckland, Waikato and the Wellington region.

The percentage of youth labour force participation is the lowest in Auckland of all regions and for all ethnicities, although the difference for European youth compared to other regions is slight. Auckland has the highest unemployment rate for both youth (19.4%) and across all age groups at 7.8%. In the North Island the unemployment rate for Māori and Pacific youth is of particular concern.

The figures for 25–44 year olds across all regions show much higher participation in the labour force and much lower rates of unemployment across all regions and all ethnic groups. Differences between ethnic groups appear to be stronger than regional differences.

Both participation rates and unemployment rates reduce across the country as older people exit the labour market. Numbers are too small to observe regional differences in unemployment or participation rates.6 Ethnic differences in labour market participation in Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury warrant further exploration. The Canterbury labour market will have changed considerably in the next quarter.

Table 3: Participation rate:  Under 25 yrs by ethnicity
Region European Māori Pacific peoples

Asian/MELAA/Other7

 Total
Auckland 63.6% 46.6% 43.6% 49.5% 55.2%
Waikato 65.0% 51.9% 70.4% 60.7% 60.4%
Wellington 72.9% 66.4% 59.9% 72.5% 70.2%
Canterbury 72.1% 70.6% ...S 52.7% 68.9%
Rest of North Island 65.1% 59.1% 66.4% 55.9% 62.8%
Rest of South Island 69.5% 52.7% ...S 54.5% 67.7%


Table 4: Unemployment rate:  Under 25 yrs by ethnicity

Region European Māori Pacific peoples Asian/MELAA/Other Total
 Auckland  16.6%  28.2%  25.9%  19.0%  19.4%
 Waikato  14.2%  29.5%  ...S  ...S  17.9%
 Wellington  12.3%  23.6%  ...S  ...S  14.1%
 Canterbury  10.5%  16.5%  ...S  26.2%  12.4%
 Rest of North Island  15.0%  31.2%  41/6%  ...S  19.2%
 Rest of South Island  12.8%  ...S  ...S  ...S  13.6%

Table 5: Participation rate: 25-44 year olds by region and ethnicity
Region European Māori Pacific Peoples Asian/MELAA/Other Total
Auckland 85.7% 75.0% 73.3% 78.6% 81.1%

Waikato

 

 83.8% 77.4% 78.6% 86.5% 83.1%
Wellington 88.0% 85.0% 81.9% 85.0% 87.1%
Canterbury 85.9% 76.9% 82.8% 80.3% 84.6%
Rest of North Island 83.1% 73.2% 77.5% 85.7% 81.3%
Rest of South Island 84.8% 76.0% 86.9% 86.1% 84.9%

Table 6: Unemployment rate: 25–44 year olds by region and ethnicity
Region European Māori Pacific Peoples Asian/MELAA/Other Total
Auckland  4.2%  8.0% 8.6% 9.2%  6.4%
Waikato 3.5%   11.9% ..S ..S  5.2%
Wellington 2.3%  9.5% 16.3% ..S   3.9%
Canterbury 5.7%  ..S ..S  9.5%  6.0%
Rest of North Island 4.1%  11.4% ..S ..S   5.6%
Rest of South Island 3.9%  ..S ..S  ..S   3.9%


Table 7: Participation rate: 45 and over by region and ethnicity

 

Region European Māori Pacific Peoples Asian/MELAA/Other Total
Auckland 63.2% 70.3% 54.0% 55.9% 61.0%
Waikato 62.8% 57.7% 70.3% 64.0% 61.8%
Wellington 62.8% 62.5% 67.2% 60.1% 62.8%
Canterbury 62.9% 73.5% 52.3% 53.8% 62.1%
Rest of North Island 57.1% 61.9% 72.2% 65.6% 57.9%
Rest of South Island 60.9% 71.1% ..S 61.9% 61.2%

 

Table 8: Unemployment rate: 45 and over by region and ethnicity

 

Region European Māori Pacific Peoples Asian/MELAA/Other TOTAL
Auckland 3.4% 7.4% 8.0% 5.1% 4.2%
Waikato 2.0% 8.8% ..S ..S 2.8%
Wellington 3.1% ..S ..S ..S 3.4%
Canterbury 3.0% ..S ..S ..S 3.4%
Rest of North Island 3.0% 8.4% ..S ..S 3.9%
Rest of South Island 2.4% ..S ..S ..S 2.9%

 

Table 9: Participation rate: Total by region and ethnicity

 

Region European Māori Pacific Peoples Asian/MELAA/Other Total
Auckland 70.7% 64.8% 58.7% 64.4% 67.3%
Waikato 69.9% 63.1% 73.1% 74.4% 68.7%
Wellington 72.8% 73.8% 70.7% 74.1% 72.7%
Canterbury 71.7% 73.8% 53.3% 65.5% 70.7%
Rest of North Island 65.8% 65.0% 72.7% 71.3% 65.8%
Rest of South Island 69.7% 67.9% 67.3% 69.8% 69.7%

 

Table 10: Unemployment rate: Total by region and ethnicity

 

Region European Māori Pacific Peoples Asian/MELAA/Other Total
Auckland 5.9% 12.2% 12.4% 9.9% 7.8%
Waikato 4.4% 14.7% 19.1% 6.5% 6.1%
Wellington 4.3% 12.6% 16.7% 4.1% 5.4%
Canterbury 5.3% 8.6% ..S 11.4% 6.0%
Rest of North Island 5.3% 15.3% 18.7% 5.3% 7.1%
Rest of South Island 4.7% 10.7% ..S 4.7% 5.0%




 

 









 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
5 Regional data separated for age and ethnicity was made available from Statistics New Zealand based on the HLFS survey information December 2010. Regional data was available by Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, the rest of the North Island, Canterbury and the rest of the South Island.
6 Estimates less than 1000 are suppressed (..S) as they are subject to sampling errors too high for most practical purposes
7 Middle Eastern, Latin American and African