Otago region shows employment growth

11 July 2007

Positive economic growth in the Otago region has increased employment, a new report released today by the Department of Labour finds.

“Growth in the Otago regional labour force of 12.8% was slightly higher than the national average (12.1%) between the 2001 and 2006 Censuses, largely due to labour force participation rates increasing,” said Paul Crack, Labour Market Knowledge Manager Otago and Southland, Department of Labour.

“Unemployment has declined* and labour force participation rates are at historically high levels for the region.”

The Annual In-Depth Regional Report for the Otago Region describes in detail the characteristics of the Otago regional labour market, the changes it has undergone and some key outcomes of these changes.

The report is one of 12 covering regions from Northland to Southland, which offer one of the first sub-regional presentations of data from Population Census 2006. Stakeholders, including strategy and policy makers and labour market participants, have said they want access to this information which gives a once-in-five-year snapshot of the labour market at a particularly fine breakdown.

“Information is based on the Otago Regional Council boundaries and, where available, the constituent territorial authority boundaries of Dunedin city and Waitaki, Central Otago, Queenstown-Lakes and Clutha districts,” Mr Crack said.

“The labour force grew in all of Otago’s constituent territorial authorities between 2001 and 2006, most notably in Central Otago and Queenstown-Lakes districts.

“While the labour force participation rate in the Otago region was lower in 2006 than New Zealand as a whole, it increased between 2001 and 2006. Low labour force participation rates in Dunedin city, which are due to a high proportion of tertiary students, many of whom are not in the labour force, affect the figures for the region as a whole. For most of the rest of the region, participation rates were high compared to the national average (68.5%), particularly in the Queenstown-Lakes district where labour force participation was 81% in 2006.

“Employment growth has been in high-skilled and skilled occupations. The property and business services industry added nearly 1900 jobs between 2001 and 2006, followed by construction (1700 more jobs) and accommodation, cafes and restaurants (1600 more jobs).

“Otago’s employment growth (10%) was below the national average (15%), primarily because of the agricultural and manufacturing focus of the region.

Manufacturing accounts for 11% of regional employment, or 9693 jobs, and the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry is an important industry employer with 9%, or 7365 jobs.”

The annual 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 labour market information from the Department of Labour. The qualitative information has been gathered at a regional level.

• Read the Annual In-Depth Regional Report for the Otago Region
• Read the Annual In-Depth Regional Report for each region.

* Otago’s unemployment rate declined from 6.6% at the time of the 2001 Census to 4.5% in 2006. The majority of unemployment data in the Annual In-Depth Regional Reports comes from Population Census 2006 (at March 2006), which shows a national unemployment rate of 5.1%. The Annual In-Depth Regional reports use Census of Population calculations of unemployment and other labour market variables, as estimates from this source are more robust for small areas, especially at the territorial authority level. Unemployment figures at a national and regional level are more generally sourced from the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), which shows an annual average national unemployment rate of 3.7% for the year ended March 2007. The HLFS and the Census of Population both produce estimates of labour force statistics such as unemployment and labour force participation rates. Because these two sources are gathered differently, they can produce different estimates. The HLFS is the official measure of labour market information for New Zealand.

ENDS

Key otago population information:

In 2006 just under 194,000 people lived in the Otago region, with 119,000 in Dunedin city. The population in Otago grew by 12,300 people, or 6%, from 2001 to 2006, slightly lower than the national average of 8%.