Articles

The labour force participation rate has been consistently rising over the past 30 years in New Zealand, providing a welcome boost to the labour supply. But can participation keep rising?

US President Ronald Reagan is famous for repeatedly using the phrase “trust, but verify”, underscoring the importance of testing assumptions to confirm that claims are true. It’s a phrase that economists also keep in mind when dealing with a vast array of different datasets.

In recent years, technological developments (such as video conferencing) and changes in workplace culture that have enabled more of us to work from home, have done more to limit the growth in commuting by motor vehicle than any local government policies.

To say that 2024 has been tough on both construction workers and employers is putting it mildly. In this article we use Stats NZ’s employment stocks and flows series to understand where construction workers typically come from, and where they head after construction.

Wages tell us a great deal about the labour market and economy. For businesses, wages reflect the price they are willing to pay for labour, and for workers, wages reflect their willingness to supply labour rather than do other activities with their time.

New Zealanders’ knowledge of Asia is at an all-time high. In Asia New Zealand Foundation's annual New Zealanders' Perceptions of Asia 2024 survey, 59% percent of respondents to the 2024 survey reported knowing ‘at least a fair amount’ about Asia, up from just 33% ten years ago. Here we look at the numbers behind the rising Asian population and workforce in New Zealand.

New Zealand has experienced an immigration surge since we reopened our border to international migrants in August 2022. Here we look at how this surge has changed the make-up of workforces across New Zealand’s territorial authorities (TAs).

Back in 2022, at the height of the post-lockdown boom and associated cost pressures, it was estimated that 50,000 more people would need to find themselves out of work as demand was reined in across the economy to bring inflation under control.

Recessionary pressures have led to a surge in youth unemployment nationally. Last week’s StatsNZ labour market statistics showed the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%. The Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) showed total unemployment up by 33,700 people, 31% higher than a year ago.

The opening of New Zealand’s borders in mid-2022 has led to an unprecedented surge in migrant arrivals. Here we look at which regions have benefitted most from this increase in the migrant labour supply.