Archive

The Labour Market Information archive contains regular and one-off reports on the labour market.

To view the archive for the monthly Job Vacancy monitor (JVM), please go to the JVM archive list This report presents the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) results for the March 2008 quarter.  The HLFS was released by Statistics New Zealand on 8 May 2008.  All figures refer to the working-age population (15 years and over) and are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified.  Terms are defined in the appendix..

External Migration Factsheet – June 2008
External Migration data for May 2008 were released by Statistics New Zealand on 20 June 2008. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to permanent & long-term (PLT, i.e. 12 months or more) migration, are not seasonally adjusted, and are rounded to the nearest 100.

External Migration Factsheet – May 2008
External Migration data for May 2008 were released by Statistics New Zealand on 20 June 2008. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to permanent & long-term (PLT, i.e. 12 months or more) migration, are not seasonally adjusted, and are rounded to the nearest 100.

Quick Facts - March 2008
Labour Market Factsheets are designed to give quick facts about key interest groups in the New Zealand Labour Market. There are factsheets on five groups- Maori, Pacific Peoples, Females, Youth and Older Workers.

Joint MSD/DoL Quarterly Regional Labour Market Reports - March 2008
The regional reports convey key labour market information on twelve regions of New Zealand. They include annual trends in labour force participation, employment rates and unemployment rates from Statistics New Zealand’s Household Labour Force Survey and benefit figures from the Ministry of Social Development’s beneficiary records.

Wage Growth - March 2008
Annual wage growth in the adjusted LCI (which measures changes in pay rates for a fixed set of jobs and excludes performance related pay increases) remained steady at 3.4% in the March 2008 quarter.  This is the equal highest rate recorded since the LCI began in 1992 matching the annual increase for the December 2007 year.

Skills in the Labour Market - December 2007
This report highlights December 2007 quarter information on skill shortages, primarily drawn from the Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion conducted by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research and the Department of Labour’s Job Vacancy Monitor. This report is produced quarterly.

Labour Market Factsheets - December 2007
Labour Market Factsheets are designed to give quick facts about key interest groups in the New Zealand Labour Market. There are factsheets on five groups- Maori, Pacific Peoples, Females, Youth and Older Workers.

Quarterly Migration Update at a glance - December 2007
This report examines trends in permanent and long-term (PLT) migration using data collected by Statistics New Zealand from arrival and departure cards. These data cover migrants intending to stay or leave for a year or more. This analysis is supported by administrative data on immigration approvals from the Department of Labour.

Annual In-depth Employment & unemployment - December 2007
This report informs you about the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) results for the December 2007 quarter. The HLFS was released by Statistics New Zealand on 7 February 2008. All figures refer to the working-age population (15 years and over) and are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Terms are defined in the appendix.

Annual In-depth Regional Labour Market Reports July 2007
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.

Joint MSD/DoL Quarterly Regional Labour Market Reports December 2007
Regionally, the labour force participation rate grew the most in Taranaki, increasing from 67.8% in the year to December 2006 to reach 69.3% in the year to December 2007.

Wage Growth - December 2007
This report examines the wage growth measures for the September 2007 quarter from the Labour Cost Index and Quarterly Employment Survey, which were released by Statistics New Zealand on 5 February 2008.

Female Labour Market Outcomes - 2007
This is the first annual report on female labour market outcomes.   It focuses on changes for females in the past five years.

Skills in the Labour Market - September 2007
The nature and extent of skill shortages are both largely unchanged since the previous Skills in the Labour Market report in August 2007.

Quarterly Migration Update - September 2007
There was a net migration inflow of 8,300 in the year to September 2007, down from 13,200 a year earlier.

Quick Facts - September 2007
Labour Market Factsheets are designed to give quick facts about key interest groups in the New Zealand Labour Market. There are factsheets on five groups- Maori, Pacific Peoples, Females, Youth and Older Workers.

Employment and Unemployment - September 2007
The HLFS results for the September 2007 quarter were mixed.  There was a reduction in the number of people that were unemployed which helped drive the unemployment rate to a record low of 3.5%.  However, employment declined slightly and the participation rate fell to 68.3% from a record high of 68.8% in the previous quarter. 

Wage Growth - September 2007
Latest figures show wage growth eased slightly but remained high in the September 2007 quarter.

Joint MSD/DoL Quarterly Regional Labour Market Reports September 2007
The Joint MSD/DoL Quarterly Regional Labour Market Reports provide regularly updated labour market information at a Regional Council level. Published following the release of the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS.)

Skills in the Labour Market - August 2007
The nature and extent of skill shortages are both largely unchanged since the previous Skills in the Labour Market report in May 2007. 

Quarterly Migration Update - June 2007
Annual net migration reached a recent peak in November 2006 at 14,800.  It has since declined to 10,100 for the year to June 2007, slightly below the figure for June 2006 (10,700). 

Quick Facts - June 2007
Labour Market Factsheets are designed to give quick facts about key interest groups in the New Zealand Labour Market. There are factsheets on five groups- Maori, Pacific Peoples, Females, Youth and Older Workers.

Employment and Unemployment June 2007
HLFS results for the June 2007 quarter were very positive with a number of records being broken. Strong employment growth of 0.7% in the quarter helped lower the unemployment rate to an equal record low of 3.6%.

Joint MSD/DoL Quarterly Regional Labour Market Reports June 2007
The Joint MSD/DoL Quarterly Regional Labour Market Reports provide regularly updated labour market information at a Regional Council level. Published following the release of the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS.)

Work Related Injury Claims October 2006
By the end of March 2006, there were 86 claims for work-related fatal injuries that occurred in 2005.  This is up 15 from the corresponding provisional (and comparable) figure in 2004. 

Maori Labour Market Outcomes - October 2006
Labour market conditions continue to be favourable for Maori workers. Robust economic growth in New Zealand over the last six years has seen more Maori in work, fewer unemployed and fewer outside the labour force; while average wages have risen in real terms.

Labour Market Outlook - July 2007
Following an easing over the second half of 2006, labour market conditions picked up in early 2007 in response to a recovery in economic growth. Employment prospects increased in early 2007 but couldn’t fully accommodate the increased rate at which people were looking for work and as a result the unemployment rate increased slightly.

Skills in the Labour Market - May 2007
Skill shortage indicators in the Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion (QSBO) have risen strongly over the last six months after trending downwards since early 2005.  A shortage of labour was the main constraint on expansion for more than one in five firms in the March 2007 QSBO.

Quick Facts - March 2007
Labour Market Factsheets are designed to give quick facts about key interest groups in the New Zealand Labour Market.  There are factsheets on five groups- Maori, Pacific Peoples, Females, Youth and Older Workers.

Employment and Unemployment - March 2007
HLFS results for the March 2007 quarter were mixed but showed recovery from the easing in the second half of 2006. Employment growth in the quarter was strong at 1.2%, the largest increase in more than two years.

Regional Reports - March 2007
The Joint MSD/DoL Quarterly Regional Labour Market Reports provide regularly updated labour market information at a Regional Council level. Published following the release of the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), these reports provide timely and accurate labour market information at a regional level..

Wage Growth- March 2007
Latest figures show wage growth weakened slightly but remained high in the March 2007 quarter.

Quarterly Migration Update - March 2007
Net migration inflows fell to 12,100 in the year to March 2007. This is a reduction of 2,700 net migrants since the most recent peak of 14,800 in the year to November 2006. Prior to the last four months migration had been trending steadily upwards from 6,000 in the year to October 2005. However, in comparison to the year to March 2006, there was an increase in annual net migration from 9,700 to 12,100.

Labour Market Outlook - April 2007
Labour market conditions eased somewhat over the second half of 2006 in response to the slowing of economic growth to a 7-year low in the year to September 2006. However, while employment declined over the second half of 2006, a reduction in the labour force participation rate ensured the unemployment rate remained low at 3.7%.

Skills in the Labour Market - February 2007
Skill shortage indicators have eased considerably from their historic highs of late 2004 and early 2005. However, some skill shortage indicators rose strongly in the latest quarter. A shortage of labour was the main constraint on expansion for almost one in five firms in the December 2006 QSBO.

Quarterly Migration update – December 2006
Net migration inflows rose to 14,600 in the year to December 2006. This continues a steady upward trend from 6,000 in the year to October 2005.

Employment and Unemployment - December 2006
The New Zealand labour market eased further in the December 2006 quarter following relatively strong growth earlier in the year.

Regional Reports - December 2006
The reports provide the latest regional labour market information such as labour force participation, employment, unemployment and job vacancies.

Wage Growth: December 2006
The latest figures show wage growth weakened slightly but remained high in the December 2006 quarter

Labour Market Outlook: October 2006
The labour market outlook has remained largely unchanged since the set of forecasts made in June 2006, mainly because recent trends and the outlook for the economy have been fairly steady.

Pacific Peoples Labour Market Outcomes: July 2006
This is the first annual report on labour market outcomes for Pacific Island people in New Zealand. It focuses on changes in the past six years and prospects for the next two years.

Skills in the Labour Market - November 2006
Skill shortage indicators have continued to ease from their historic highs of late 2004 and early 2005. The difficulty of finding skilled staff is now at its lowest level since early 1999. A large fall in job vacancies over the last year also points to an improvement in recruitment conditions for employers.

Employment and Unemployment - September 2006
The New Zealand labour market eased slightly in the September 2006 quarter following relatively strong growth earlier in the year.

Regional Reports - September 2006
The reports provide the latest regional labour market information such as labour force participation, employment, unemployment and job vacancies.

Wage Growth - September 2006
The latest figures show wage growth remained high in the September 2006 quarter

Quarterly Migration Update - June 2006
The net gain the New Zealand population makes from overseas migration has steadily risen in the last 8 months to 10,700 in the year to June 2006. The average net gain over the past decade was 10,300 per annum.

Employment and Unemployment - June 2006
A number of HLFS records were broken this quarter. A record large rise in full-time employment helped lower unemployment back to an equal record low rate, the rate of labour force participation is at an all-time high, and underemployment fell to a record low.

Wage Growth - June 2006
Wage growth is still high, but may have reached a peak as the three key wage growth measures eased slightly in the June 2006 quarter

Labour Market Outlook - June 2006
The labour market outlook has remained largely unchanged since the set of forecasts made in April 2006, mainly because recent trends and the outlook for the economy have been fairly steady

Skills in the Labour Market - May 2006
Skill shortage indicators appear to have fallen sharply in the year to March 2006. Although the fall in these indicators was the largest in 15 years, it was from such a high level that labour market conditions are still tight.

Employment and Unemployment - March 2006
The HLFS results were mixed, but strong overall. There was a large rise in the number of people in paid work and an even larger rise in the number of people participating in the labour force.

Wage Growth - March 2006
All measures of wage growth stayed very high or rose further in the March 2006 quarter as a lagged response to the tightening of the labour market in 2004 and 2005

Labour Market Outlook - April 2006
The New Zealand labour market is expected to remain fairly strong relative to the past 20 years and relative to most developed nations. However, a small reversal of recent labour market improvements is expected because of the slowdown in the wider economy.

Quarterly Migration Update - December 2005
The New Zealand population made a moderate net gain of 7,000 permanent and long-term migrants in 2005.

IT Recruiters Survey (2005) –December 2005
There are 74 specialisations in shortage in 2005, which is an increase from 55 in 2004 and 13 in 2003.

Occupational reports (2004): Professionals – February 2005
It was found that shortages in the 10 professional occupations were less acute than in 16 trade occupations previously analysed.

Economic Growth - October 2005
Economic growth strengthened to 1.1% in the June 2005 quarter after a run of moderate growth in the preceding four quarters. This result exceeded both the 10-year average and the average forecast of 0.8%.

Occupational reports (2004): Trades – February 2005
Shortages are acute in some trade occupations, with vacancy fill rates below 30% in some areas.

Income Survey - November 2004
Average hourly earnings grew solidly over the year to June 2004 as the median rose by 2.3 percent to $15.34 and the mean rose 2.1 percent to $18.24.

Regional reports - June 2004
The regions of Otago-Southland and Auckland had the largest improvements in their labour market conditions over the last year. Both regions had a rise in their rate of labour force participation and a fall in their unemployment rate, as well as robust economic and job growth.