Older Workers Labour Market Outcomes At a Glance

Published: 14 June 2007

Description

This is an annual report focussed on changes in the labour market for New Zealanders aged 55 years and over, and gives an indication of near term prospects.

Link to full report

Older Workers Labour Market Outcomes - March 2007 HTML | PDF [119 KB, 14 pages]

Summary

In the past year the number of older people employed has grown by 5.9%, far exceeding growth in total employment of 1.9% over the same period.

The unemployment rate among older people is at 1.8%, well below the total unemployment rate of 3.8%.

The proportion of the older population who are working continues to rise, with their labour force participation rate now at 40.7%, up from 39.7% the year before.

Older men have improved their participation faster than older women in the past year, and their participation rate stands at 49.3% compared with 33.0% for women.

Workers aged 55 and over now comprise one in six of the total labour force.

New Zealand is near the top of the OECD in rates of workforce participation among older people.

Related information

Quick facts about Older Workers in the labour market

Older People in Work: Key Trends and Patterns 1991-2005

Future updates

This is the first of an on-going annual series– the next update is due in June 2008. Reports from previous periods can be found in archive

Author or contact details

For further information please contact the Labour Market Analysis team