Annual In depth Regional Labour Market Reports

National Executive Summary

The Department of Labour has developed a set of twelve regional labour market reports. These regional reports bring together a wide range of labour market information produced on a quarterly, annual and five-yearly basis to describe in detail the characteristics of the regional labour markets, the changes they have undergone and some key outcomes of these changes.

The reports combine both quantitative and qualitative market information. The data comes mainly from Population Census 2006, with some additional data from Statistics New Zealand surveys and additional information from the Department of Labour. The qualitative information has been gathered at a regional level by the Department of Labour regional Labour Market Knowledge Managers and their regional stakeholders.

The reports are designed to provide a focus for local level decision makers to evaluate regional performance, and to aid strategic decision making within the region. Throughout the reports a set of questions are included to facilitate this process.

Results from the Annual In Depth regional reports show a general improvement in labour market performance across the country in recent years.

• Unemployment has declined across New Zealand (especially since 2001). Regional data from the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) shows no regions with unemployment rates above 5%.
• Labour force participation rates have increased across New Zealand (with only a few exceptions at the Territorial Authority level).
• The rate of employment (employment divided by working age population) has grown in every Territorial Authority between 2001 and 2006.
• Qualification levels of the working age population have improved (the share of the population with higher qualifications increasing, the share with lower qualifications is declining).
• Employment growth is generally in high skilled jobs (generally employment growth was led by increased numbers of Managers, Professionals and Technicians.
• Employment growth is generally in service industries, with Property and Business Services (Architects, Real Estate Agents, Surveyors etc) the industry with consistently high growth across the 12 reports.
• While positive results are the standard, some districts still show difficulties. Several districts are forecast to have a declining population. Some districts still have relatively high rates of unemployment (the three highest are in the Eastern Bay of Plenty), and several districts have particularly low participation rates.

This is the first release of the Annual In Depth Regional reports. The Department of Labour produce two other regional reports:

• The Quarterly Regional Labour Market reports summarise Unemployment data from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) in association with the most up to date Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) results and the Job Vacancy Monitor (JVM). This data is produced at the regional level.
• The Annual Regional Overview report is released in February and summarises results for five major labour market statistics for each of the regions of New Zealand based on HLFS, JVM, Population Census and the Linked Employer Employee Dataset (LEED).

The In Depth Regional reports build on these other two reports by analysing regional data more deeply, and by using data at a finer level. By presenting data at a Territorial Authority level, sub regional differences are able to be observed. Within each of the regions covered by the AIDRs differences exist in labour market performance. The reports are therefore able to identify challenges and opportunities for labour market development and will be of interest to a wide range of stakeholders working in the regions.

The 12 Annual In Depth Regional Reports can be viewed below:

• Northland
• Auckland
• Waikato
• Bay of Plenty
• Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay
• Taranaki
• Manawatu – Wanganui
• Wellington
• Tasman/Nelson/Marlborough/West Coast
• Canterbury
• Otago
• Southland