GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Employment: The number of people in work for one hour or more per week.

Employment rate: The proportion of the working-age population that is employed.

Ethnicity: Ethnic group or groups that people identify with or feel they belong to. Ethnicity is a measure of cultural affiliation, as opposed to race, ancestry, nationality or citizenship. Ethnicity is self-assigned, and people can belong to more than one ethnic group.

As part of the 2006 Census, the ethnicity of 'New Zealander' appeared first as a standard output. In 2006, 11.1% of respondents listed New Zealander as one of their ethnicities. In previous Censuses, responses identifying New Zealander as the only ethnicity were coded within the New Zealand European category.

Statistics New Zealand are currently analysing the characteristics of respondents who classify themselves as a New Zealander. Initial analysis suggests that people who list their ethnicity as New Zealander are more likely to be aged between 30-59, and more likely to be male than female.

Highest qualification: Combines highest secondary school qualification and post-school qualification to derive a single highest qualification by category of attainment for people aged 15 years and over. Qualifications are registered at one of ten levels, with the level depending on the complexity of the skills and knowledge that are being recognised. Level 1 qualifications are the least complex and are open-ended downward to capture all learning. Level 10 is the most complex. The levels do not equate to 'years spent learning' but reflect the content of the qualification. A brief description of the contents of the qualifications is:

• Level 1 to 3: senior secondary school learning (NCEA), foundation skills and introductory trades training
• Level 3 to 4: initial trade certificates
• Level 5 to 7: advanced trades, technical and business qualifications
• Level 7 and above: graduate and post-graduate qualifications.

Table 8 includes the four categories:

• No Qualification - this includes people with little or no qualifications obtained
• Total School -this includes people whose highest qualification was gained while attending school
• Total Post-School (Vocational) - this includes people whose highest qualification was gained from a post-school non-university establishment
• Total Bachelor Degree or Higher - this includes people whose highest qualification was a bachelor degree or higher.

Hours worked per week: Total number of hours usually worked in employment per week by the working-age population.

Income: Before-tax income from a range of sources such as labour, entrepreneurial skills and assets, and transfers received. Tax credits and money received by borrowing, making withdrawals from savings and receiving repayments of loan principal are excluded.

Industry: The type of activity undertaken by the organisation, enterprise or business within which a person aged 15 years and over is employed. Based on a classification managed by Statistics New Zealand.

Industry mix: The expected growth in employment in a particular industry calculated using the national growth rate for that industry.

Labour demand: People who employers are willing to have work for them, the number of hours they want them to work and the skills and attributes employers desire from these people to perform their jobs.

Labour force: The labour force consists of members of the working-age population who are classified as employed or unemployed (people in the labour force).

Labour force participation rate: The proportion of the working-age population who are either employed or unemployed. The terms 'labour force participation rate' and 'participation rate' are often used interchangeably. The adjusted labour force participation rate is a hypothetical rate showing what the regional labour force participation is likely to be if the age and gender structure of the region was the same as the national average.

Labour supply: People that make themselves available for work, and the attributes and skills these people bring to the workplace.

Not in the labour force: Any person in the working-age population who is neither employed nor unemployed. This includes, for example, retired people, students and people at home with children.

Occupation: A set of jobs that require the performance of similar or identical tasks, and collected for employed people aged 15 years and over. Based on a classification managed by Statistics New Zealand.

Population: Unless explicitly stated, 'population' in this report refers to the usually resident population of an area.

School leaver attainment: Highest qualification held by school leavers.

Statistics New Zealand (SNZ): New Zealand's national statistical office.

Unemployment: The number of people in the working-age population who are without a paid job, are available for work and have actively sought work in the past four weeks or have a new job to start within the next four weeks.

Unemployment rate: The number of unemployed people expressed as a percentage of the labour force.

Wage and salary earnings: Earnings received for paid employment that is undertaken. Earnings consist of wages and salaries, back pay, commissions, allowances, bonuses (regular and non-regular), gratuities (tips), fees, piece rates, retainers, honoraria and paid leave.

Worker replacement rate: The worker replacement rate measures the proportion of workers that change job independent of job availability. The rate is calculated by taking the rate at which employment changes occur (the worker turnover rate) and subtracting the rate at which jobs change.

Working-age population: Usually resident population aged 15 years and over.