Pacific Peoples in the Labour Market - September 2016 Year Pacific Peoples active in the labour market Employment to working age population ratio Labour force participation rate Labour market outcomes for Pacific peoples improved over the year to September 2016. Employment rate for the year to Sep - 2016 in the year to Sep - 2016 North Island (excl. Auckland and Wellington) 60.8% North Island (excl. Auckland and Wellington) 68.1% Employment was up 13,900 to 133,700 workers over the year. Auckland 63.7% Auckland 57.6% Participation rate increased to 65.1 per cent, up 2.3 percentage points from a year ago. Wellington 66.1% South Island 70.9% Unemployment rate fell by 1.9 percentage points from a year ago to 9.6 per cent. Wellington 59.4% South Island 66.1% The annual average NEET rate rose from 16.5 per cent to 16.8 per cent in September 2016. About 11,200 Pacific Peoples youth were not in education, employment and training. National and regional employment Labour Demand Unemployment rate People unemployed ('000) Employment outcomes improved for Pacific peoples in September 2016. Compared with a year ago, 13,900 (or 11.6 per cent) more Pacific peoples were employed. The rise in employment was driven by higher employment in the accomodation & food services, utilities and construction, and education and training industries over the year. The employment rates were also up in two out of six age groups in September 2016. ▼ 14.1 ▼ 9.6% down 8.5% from a year 10.9% of total unemployed in NZ (128.9) The unemployment rate for Pacific women fell by 2.8 percentage points (pp) over the past year, with fewer Pacific women unemployed, down to 7,400 from 8,500 in September 2015. The unemployment rate fell 0.9 percentage points for Pacific men. Total labour force ('000) More Pacific peoples are active in the labour market. The participation rate for Pacific Peoples increased 2.3 percentage points (pp) over the year to 65.1 per cent. This improved participation rate was in part due to increased participation rates among Pacific Peoples in most age groups, and in Pacific people males (up 2.2 pp to 71.8 per cent) and females (up 2.5 pp to 59.1 per cent). up 9.3% from a year ago 5.8% of the total labour force in NZ Differences in Pacific peoples employment across the regions continue. Pacific peoples in the South Island had the highest employment rate (66.1 per cent), followed by North Island (excl. Auckland and Wellington) (60.8 per cent) in September 2016. This compares with 57.6 per cent in Auckland, where the Pacific peoples population is most concentrated. About 66.4 per cent (98,100) of the total Pacific peoples labour force is in Auckland, and 11.4 per cent (16,900) in Wellington. up 5.3% from a year ago 6.1% of total WAP in NZ (3,698.0) Region Sep-2016 Auckland Wellington North Island (excl. Auckland and Wellington) South Island Total Pacific Peoples employment Total New Zealand employment Industry employment up 3.3pp from a year ago 6.9pp below NZ average (65.8%) Labour force participation rate up 2.3pp from a year ago 4.1pp below NZ average 88,700 15,200 19,300 10,500 133,700 2,430,900 Change Annual Three-year 13.2% 43.2% 18.6% 13.5% 8.7% 30.6% 3.9% 50.7% 11.6% 37.7% 3.5% 10.4% Employment by industry The industries employing the most Pacific peoples workers in September 2016 were manufacturing, wholesale &retail, and health care and social assistance. Over the year, employment grew in most industries. The strongest annual growth was in accommodation & food services (69.2 per cent or 3,200 workers), followed by utilities and construction (31.6 per cent or 3,600 workers). Pacific peoples employment share by industry, Sep 2016 Annual change Wholesale & Retail Health Care and Social Assistance Utilities and Construction Other Business Services* Sep-2015 4,600 11,400 6,900 Sep-2016 7,700 15,000 8,400 Change 69.2% 31.6% 22.5% Other Business Services* Public Admin and Safety Education and Training Health Care and Social Assistance Other Services Total Employed (including Not Specified) Public Admin and Safety Education and Training Accommodation & Food Services Other Services Financial and Insurance 11,100 23,400 11,000 23,200 0.9% 0.9% Agriculture Forestry Fishing and Mining 0% Pacific peoples Industry Agriculture Forestry Fishing and Mining Manufacturing Utilities and Construction Wholesale & Retail Accommodation & Food Services Transport Warehousing IM & Communications Financial and Insurance Manufacturing Transport Warehousing IM &… Biggest falls Other Business Services* Manufacturing ▲ 58.9% Employment by region In the year to September 2016, there were 227,000 Pacific peoples of working age. Of these, 147,800 Pacific peoples were in the labour market. By region, participation rates for Pacific peoples in the South Island were higher than in the North Island. The participation rate for Pacific peoples in Auckland was 63.7 per cent and 66.1 per cent in Wellington. Biggest rises Accommodation & Food Services Utilities and Construction Education and Training down 1.9pp from a year ago 4.5pp above NZ average (5.0%) Labour supply and participation Working age population ('000) Employment rate 5% 10% Total All Ethnic Groups 15% Sep-2016 3,200 23,200 15,000 17,000 7,700 11,800 3,500 Annual 18.5% 0.9% 31.6% 0.7% 69.2% 19.7% 4.5% 11,000 8,600 8,400 15,100 6,500 133,700 0.9% 18.3% 22.5% 1.2% 0.4% 11.6% Change Three-year 15.3% 18.5% 101.3% 42.9% 55.6% 23.8% 33.7% 30.7% 26.1% 39.8% 31.5% 27.7% 37.7% Note: Sum of employment by industry may not equal total employed due to rounding. The smaller estimates are subject to 20% large sampling errors. The above figures are annual average, and may differ from Statistics New Zealand's published figures. *Includes rental, hiring & real estate services, administrative & support services, and professional, scientific & technical services, and other services. Occupational Representation Pacific peoples employment by occupation, Sep 2016 Pacific peoples representation in skilled occupations has improved. Pacific peoples in skilled occupations total 46,900 workers in September 2016, an increase of 7,200 workers (up 18.1 per cent) from a year ago. 35.5% of Pacific peoples were in skilled* occupations Over the year, employment in most occupation groups increased. The biggest increases in employment were for managers (39.8 per cent or 3,400 workers), plant workers (16.1 per cent or 2,100 workers) and professionals (11.6 per cent or 2,000 workers). These occupation groups make up 54.0 per cent of the total increase in Pacific peoples employment for September 2016. 19.8% of Pacific peoples were in low skilled occupations * Includes those in managerial, professional, and trades & technician occupation groups; low skilled occupations are those under the Labourers 26,200 20% Plant 15,200 12% Sales 12,300 9% Managers 11,800 9% Professionals 19,000 14% Occupational representation, Sep 2016 25% 20% 15% 10% Clerks 15,800 12% Technicians and Trades 16,200 12% Service 15,800 12% 5% 0% Managers Professionals Technicians and Trades Pacific peoples Source: Household Labour Force Survey, Statistics New Zealand Youth disengagement The proportion of young people who are not engaged in employment, education, or training (NEET) is used as an indicator of youth disengagement. In September 2016, there were about 67,000 Pacific peoples aged 15-24 years. Of these, about 11,200 people were NEET, an increase of 600 from a year ago. By gender, the Pacific NEET rate has been consistently higher than other ethnic groups for both males and females, except for Maori females in all quarters and Maori males in most quarters. Among Pacific peoples aged 15-24 years, 13.6 per cent of males and 20.1 per cent of females were NEET in September 2016.The NEET rate for both males and females increased over the year. The NEET rate for Pacific peoples was 16.8 per cent in September 2016. Ethnic group European Māori Pacific Peoples Asian Total All Ethnic Groups Clerks Sales Plant Labourers Total All Ethnic Groups NEET rate by ethnic group NEET rate Sep-2016 9.2 19.5 16.8 9.2 11.3 Change (percentage points) Annual Three-year 0.2pp 1.1pp 1.3pp 4.2pp 0.2pp 3.7pp 2.2pp 2.0pp 0.1pp 1.2pp Pacific Peoples NEET rate by gender NEET rate Sep-2016 13.6 20.1 16.8 Change (percentage points) Annual Three-year 1.2pp 0.8pp 0.3pp 7.6pp 0.2pp 3.7pp Source: Statistics New Zealand, MBIE Gender Overall, Pacific peoples have a higher NEET rate than Europeans and Asians. However, over the past three years, Pacific peoples had a lower NEET rate than Māori . Service Male Female Total This document reports key labour market information for Pacific Peoples for the year to September 2016. All data is sourced from the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) released quarterly by Statistics New Zealand (SNZ). Data is annualised to address sampling error and seasonal variation concerns. For the purposes of this factsheet “total response” data is used. This means that Pacific Peoples refers to everyone who has selected that ethnic group, regardless of whether they have also selected another group. The subnational estimates (eg regional breakdown or ethnic group) are subject to larger sampling errors than the national estimates. Therefore, caution is needed when using and interpreting subnational estimates. Due to methodological and question changes in the survey in the June 2016 quarter, caution is needed when interpreting the changes in the employment indicators.
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