Youth Labour Market Factsheet – September 2011
Published November 2011
This factsheet reports key labour market information for youth for the year to September 2011. All data is sourced from the Household Labour Force Survey released quarterly by Statistics New Zealand. Data is annualised to address sampling error and seasonal variation concerns[1]
Youth occupy a distinct place in the labour market because significantly more are either studying or raising children and thus not in the labour force. These characteristics help explain why youth rates in many of the labour market indicators outlined in this report differ considerably from those for the total population.
In the year to September 2011, there were 637,700 young people (aged 15 to 24 years), of whom 60.6% were in the labour force while 39.4% were not in the labour force[2]. Those employed and unemployed are discussed in further detail below.
Summary of the youth labour market for the year to September 2011
Description for Summary of the youth labour market for the year to September 2011
Labour force participation
The labour force participation rate for youth stood at 60.6% for the year to September 2011, which represents a 0.1 percentage point decrease over the past year and a 3.6 percentage point decrease over the past five years. Compared with the participation rate for all people, which was 68.3% in the year to September 2011, the youth rate is considerably lower.
Labour force participation rates, 2006-2011
Data table for Labour force participation rates
Unemployment
The unemployment rate for youth was 17.3% in the year to September 2011, which was -0.2 percentage points below its level a year ago, and 7.7 percentage points higher than its level five years ago. Compared with the unemployment rate for all people, which was 6.6% in the year to September 2011, the youth rate is noticeably higher.
Unemployment rates, 2006-2011
Data table for Unemployment rates
Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET)
The NEET rate is a key measure of youth disengagement. Among 15-24 year olds, in the year to September 2011, Maori youth (16.4%) had the highest NEET rate, ahead of Pacific (13.7%) and European youth (8.2%).
NEET rates by ethnic group, 2007-2011
Data table for NEET rates by ethnic group
In the 15-19 years age group, 9.9% of males and 6.7% of females were NEET in the year to September 2011. In the 20-24 years age group, 11.9% of males and 10.3% of females were NEET. In both age groups, the male NEET rates were greater than the respective female rates.
NEET rates by age-group and gender, 2007-2011
Data table for NEET by age-group and gender
Employment
In the year to September 2011, 319,300 youth were in employment. The employment pattern of youth differs from that of older workers as significantly more people aged 15 to 24 years work part-time, often around their tertiary studies.
Over the last five years, the employment rate of youth decreased 7.9 percentage points from 58.0% to 50.1%. The rate is below that for the total population, which stood at 63.8% in the year to September 2011.
Employment rates, 2006-2011
In the year to September 2011, the leading industries in which youth worked were retail trade (61,400 workers) and accommodation and food services (49,100 workers).
| Jun-11 | |
|---|---|
| Industry | (000) |
| Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing | 22.0 |
| Mining, Electricity, Gas, Water & Waste Services | 1.5 |
| Manufacturing | 31.9 |
| Construction | 25.0 |
| Wholesale Trade | 10.5 |
| Retail Trade | 61.4 |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 49.2 |
| Transport, Postal and Warehousing | 8.4 |
| Information Media & Telecommunications | 6.4 |
| Financial & Insurance Services | 6.4 |
| Rental, Hiring & Real Estate Services | 3.8 |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 16.6 |
| Administrative & Support Services | 9.9 |
| Public Administration & Safety | 8.9 |
| Education & Training | 17.6 |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 18.0 |
| Arts & Recreation Services | 8.5 |
| Other Services | 12.5 |
| Total Employed (including Not Specified) | 319.3 |
In the year to September 2011, the most common occupational groups for youth were sales workers (65,800 workers) and labourers (63,200 workers).
| Jun-11 | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | (000) |
| Managers | 22.7 |
| Professionals | 33.8 |
| Technicians & trades workers | 43.9 |
| Community & personal service workers | 45.7 |
| Clerical & administrative workers | 28.8 |
| Sales workers | 65.8 |
| Machinery operators & drivers | 14.4 |
| Labourers | 63.2 |
| Total Employed | 319.3 |
Labour market terms explained
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.
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.
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.
NEET: This measure refers to youth not engaged in education, employment and training. Youth who are not engaged in these activities are at risk of poor labour market outcomes. In this report, caregiving is deemed to be engagement and so is excluded from the way NEET is measured.
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 proportion of the labour force that is unemployed.
Working–age population: Usually resident population aged 15 years and over.
For more information contact labourmarketanalysis@dol.govt.nz
Next release: 9 February 2012
1 Data from the Household Labour Force Survey has been annualised by averaging the results from the past four quarters. This may occasionally result in a small rounding error compared to annual results produced directly by Statistics New Zealand.
2 See end of report for definitions of concepts and rates used in this report.