Relevance
The employment rate is the best available indicator of the prevalence of paid employment. It captures trends in both unemployment and labour force participation (the proportion of the working age population either employed or unemployed).
Current Level and Trends
In 2003, 72.5 percent of 15-64 year-olds (1.878 million people) were employed for one hour or more per week. This was slightly above the rates recorded in 1986 and 1987 (72 percent). The employment rate has been rising since 1992, except during the economic downturn in 1997 and 1998. The increase from 65.3 percent in 1992 to 72.5 percent in 2003 corresponds to a rise of 423,000 in the number of employed people aged 15-64. Over the same period, the number of people aged 15-64 increased by 361,400.
Full-time employment rates declined between 1986 (60.3 percent) and 1991 (52 percent) and have yet to recover to 1986 levels among men. Part-time employment rates have increased for both sexes over the period (from 11.7 percent in 1986 to 15.9 percent in 2003), almost doubling among men. However, women (23 percent) continue to have higher part-time employment rates than men (8 percent).
Figure PW2.1 Employment rate, 1986-2003
Source: Statistics New Zealand,
Household Labour Force Survey. Note: Based on population aged 15-64
Age and Sex Differences
The employment rate decline between 1987 and 1992 affected all age groups but was most pronounced for young people aged 15-24. Youth employment rates have remained relatively low during the period of employment growth since 1992, possibly due to a growth in participation in tertiary education and training. Conversely, employment rates for people aged 45-64 have grown strongly since 1992, driven mainly by the phasing in of the higher age of eligibility for New Zealand Superannuation, rising employment among women, and an increase in labour demand.
Womens' employment rate is significantly lower than that of men, owing mainly to the fact that women spend more time on childcare and other unpaid household work. The gap has, however, narrowed substantially since the mid-1980s, from 24 to 13 percentage points.
Table PW2.1 Employment rates (%), by age and sex, selected years, 1986-2003
| Year | 15-24 | 25-44 | 45-64 | Total | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 67.1 | 79.4 | 65.1 | 72.0 | 84.1 | 60.0 |
| 1991 | 54.3 | 74.0 | 61.7 | 65.5 | 73.7 | 57.5 |
| 1996 | 59.4 | 77.3 | 70.2 | 71.1 | 79.0 | 63.3 |
| 2001 | 56.0 | 77.9 | 73.6 | 71.8 | 78.9 | 64.9 |
| 2002 | 56.8 | 78.3 | 74.7 | 72.4 | 79.6 | 65.4 |
| 2003 | 56.6 | 78.3 | 75.3 | 72.5 | 79.3 | 65.8 |
Source: Statistics New Zealand, Household Labour Force Survey. Note: Average for December years
Ethnic Differences
The proportions of the European, Māori and Pacific working-age populations in employment all fell between 1987 and 1992 and have risen since then. The only ethnic group to have higher employment rates in 2003 than in the mid-1980s was the European only group (77.5 percent employed in 2003, compared with 73.5 percent in 1986). The Māori employment rate, at 61.7 percent in 2003, has almost recovered to 1986 levels (61.9 percent), but Pacific people were still much less likely to be employed (67.2 percent in 1986, 59.9 percent in 2003). The employment rate for the 'Other' ethnic category has fallen from being the second highest in the late 1980s to the lowest since the mid-1990s, reflecting in part the difficulties experienced by some newer migrants in integrating into the New Zealand labour market.46
Figure PW2.2 Figure PW2.2 Employment rate
by ethnic group, 1986-2003
Source: Statistics New Zealand,
Household Labour Force Survey. Note: Based on population aged 15-64
Regional Differences
In 2003, employment rates were highest in Waikato (65.8 percent) and Wellington (65.5 percent), and lowest in Bay of Plenty (58.8 percent) and Northland (57.0 percent).
International Comparison
In 2002, the New Zealand employment rate of 72.4 percent for people aged 15-64 years was higher than the OECD median of 66.7 percent and ranked eighth best out of 30 OECD countries. New Zealand's position has improved from 13th place in 1990, almost entirely due to the recovery in male employment rates. Iceland had the best employment rate in 2002 (82.8 percent). The New Zealand rate in 2002 was similar to that of the United Kingdom (72.7 percent), the United States (71.9 percent) and Canada (71.5 percent) and higher than that of Australia (69.4 percent).
