Working Long Hours in New Zealand: A Profile of Long Hours Workers Using Data From The 2006 Census
Long Hours and Location
Key question
Where do people working long hours tend to live?
Those living in rural areas are disproportionately represented amongst long hours workers.
Figure 18: Rural/urban, long hours workers and total workforce
Figure 18 compares the profile of those working long hours, by rural or urban location, with the total workforce. The graph shows that, while workers in main urban areas make up 71% of workforce, they are only 63% of those working 50 or more hours each week. Similarly, those in living in “Other” rural areas are 13% of the workforce, but 21% of those working 50 or more hours each week. As such, those in these rural areas are disproportionately more likely to work long hours, a finding that correlates with the high numbers of workers reporting long working hours in rural occupations and industries.
An analysis of region, illustrated in Figure 19, shows that, while those living in regions with major centres are slightly less likely to work long hours, overall, the regional locations of those working long hours is consistent with the total workforce.
Figure 19: Region, long hours and total workforce
