Zealand Labour Market Research Articles

Person Level Statistics Using Linked Employer-Employee Data

New statistical measures were published in a report by Statistics New Zealand on 24 October 2006 from the Linked Employer-Employee Data Set (LEED). LEED uses longitudinal information from existing taxation and Statistics NZ Sources to provides a range of information on the dynamics of the New Zealand labour market. New statistics have been produced for the first time on income transitions, job tenure, multiple job holding and the self-employed. The use of administrative data allows Statistics New Zealand to produce new statistics at level of regional and industry detail not available from existing sources. Detailed statistics from the 2000 to 2005 tax years are available on the Statistics New Zealand web-site. The statistics are mostly person-level statistics for the period to the end of the 2005 tax year. This paper provides highlight from this report, covering three areas: earnings transitions, multiple job holding as well as new information on self-employment. LEED can produce these outputs across time and three other dimensions, age, sex and regional council area. Not all of this information is provided in the annual release, but is available, free of change, on Statistics New Zealand’s web based Table Builder product.

Homeownership and the New Zealand Labour Market

Since the early 1990s, the proportion of the New Zealand households living in owner-occupied dwellings has declined markedly from 73.8 per cent in 1991 to 66.9 per cent in 2006. Over the same period there has been a decline in the unemployment rate from 10.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent. Several demand, supply and institutional factors are responsible for the downward trend in unemployment, but this paper investigates a possible connection with homeownership that has hitherto not been investigated in New Zealand. Andrew Oswald argued in a series of unpublished papers in the 1990s that home ownership is detrimental to labour market flexibility because of transaction costs that homeowners must incur when a job change necessitates a change of residence. An extensive theoretical and empirical literature on this hypothesis has emerged internationally. The present paper reviews earlier findings and then rests the hypothesis with 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2001 census data for 58 labour market areas, using econometric models for panel data. We take account of the erogeneity of homeownership. The New Zealand models do provide evidence that supports the Oswald hypothesis.

Effects of Multiple Job Holding on the Work-Life Balance

Multiple job holding is a significant feature of the contemporary New Zealand labour market, with at least one in ten people actively involved in the workforce holding more than one job at a time. Research into the effects of multiple job holding on the lives of workers in three sectors shows there can be considerable impact on their work-life balance. The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with male and female health professional, farmers, and cafe or restaurant workers. The research shows that multiple job holding is comparatively well established in the agriculture and health sectors, with multiple job holders expecting to remain as such for the longer term. While multiple job holding may be equally established in the cafe and restaurant sector, the multiple jobs holders do not generally expect to remain so for long so the multiple job holding appears more transitional. Multiple job holders, who typically work long hours, are motivated by a range of factors, with economic reasons dominating. However, personal factors and pulling together a portfolio of work are also important. Overall, workers interviewed in the three sectors tend to hold their jobs because they want to rather than because they have to. Nevertheless, multiple job holding affects lives outside work, particularly family activities, participation in leisure and exercise, and community involvement. These effects on work-life balance vary by sector.

Pay Equity and Equal Employment Opportunity: Policy, Rhetoric and Reality in the 2004 New Zealand Labour Market

Pay equity (here interpreted as equal pay for work of equal value) has long been official Labour Party policy, although never properly implemented. The recent Taskforce on Pay and Employment Equity in the Public Service, Public Education and Public Health proposes advances in those sectors. At the same time, Part Two of the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill a First Reading Stage would have repealed the only possible, if disputed, legislative underpinning for equal pay for work of equal value in the public and private sectors. After submissions and lobbying, the government sensibly agreed to the Select Committee recommendation to withdraw this from the Bill. The HRC report "Framework for the Future: Equal Employment Opportunities in New Zealand" finds little progress in the employment position of people with disabilities, while the status of Pacific people in the New Zealand labour force is even worse than that of Maori- nor has gender equality yet been achieved. It argues that a lack of equal opportunity creates social tension while New Zealand is being held hack economically through talent being under-utilised. This paper will discuss these reports and developments, government policy and the realities in these areas in 2004 New Zealand.

Deregulation of the New Zealand labour market

The neo-classical rationale for deregulation of the labour market argues that capital and labour should have greater choice in their relationship with each other, in particular employers should have greater flexibility to affect wages and conditions in accord with specific product markets and local conditions. Decentralised decision making, it is argued, will lead to greater market efficiency than a centrally controlled system of employment relations and wage setting. Such was the rationale for the Employment Contracts Act (ECA) in 1991. Although it did even out the relative power granted to capital and labour the Employment Relations Act (ERA) introduced a decade later preserved the general thrust of the 1991 legislation. The ECA completed the dismantling of centralised regulation of employment relationships in New Zealand. But over ten years later there is still no clear consensus on its labour market impact. The immediate effects of the legislation on unionisation and levels of work stoppages are relatively easy to document. However, outcomes related to the functioning of the labour market as a whole – unemployment rates, labour force participation rates, wage levels, labour productivity and on-the-job-training – have proved far more difficult to tie directly or even indirectly to the ECA. It is argued here that the impact of the ECA on efficiency and growth has been extremely modest and that any net improvement in conventional labour market measures has been negligible. Rather the Act has been more influential in redistributing available paid work, including the redistribution of a greater share of the surplus from labour to capital itself. Any categorical conclusions on the impacts of the ECA and the ERA require a far more carefully specified research design than has been applied to date.

A Report Card on the New Zealand Labour Market: Improving, Could do Better

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the performance of the New Zealand labour market in recent years. In particular how has the performance during the current economic cycle (defined here as since 1996) compared with that in two earlier cycles (1984 to 1989 and 1989 to 1996)? I adopt a broad definition of labour market performance, one that is consistent with the Department of Labour's overarching objective to have New Zealanders enjoying high quality working lives in thriving and inclusive communities. In taking a wide focus, this paper goes for breadth ahead of depth. I provide observations along a wide range of indicators, but often cannot provide robust explanations for these observations. In these instances the main aim of the paper is to highlight areas where more in-depth research is warranted. From this broad but reasonably shallow analysis one gets a remarkably consistent theme: the performance of the New Zealand labour market has improved markedly during the 1990s but there is still scope for further improvements.

Occupational Trends in New Zealand: 1991-2001

This research provides a useful insight into the occupational evolution of the New Zealand labour market. Our presentation looks at three different areas and the research paper is divided accordingly. The paper begins with an analysis of the conceptual basis of occupational classifications used in New Zealand. This is done because the classification system forms the basis of the quality and amount of occupational employment information that can be used for historical trends. The NZSC099 is a skills-based classification system therefore the paper examines the strengths and limitations of the way that the NZSC099 uses skills information. The paper then follows with an explanation of how the research team constructed a time series of occupational employment using data from the 1991, 1996 and 2001 Census of Population and Dwellings. The paper concludes with some initial results from an analysis of trends in the occupational structure of the New Zealand labour market between 1991 and 2001 using this Census data. This section comprises key explanatory figures and charts of longitudinal trends.

Age, Gender and the Rhetoric of the 'New Career'

In this paper we compare the career experiences of women, as described in a small qualitative study of older women managers, with the rhetoric of the 'new career'. In this rhetoric, workers now have the freedom to constantly re-invent themselves by choosing from a range of possible career paths. In opposition to this claim, critics argue that only a small privileged group of workers have this experience of freedom, ' because various groups within the labour market have differential access to this 'new career', depending on factors like gender, ethnicity and location. In relation to age, many researchers find that the later stages of most 'careers ' are now haunted by narrowing choices. We critically consider claims about the 'new career' model in relation to older women's work opportunities. We first introduce issues arising from a study of the careers of 20 women managers aged 40 and over who were involved in mid-life management education. In their accounts, they strongly denied that they saw themselves as any less competent as they aged, while commenting that they believed that others saw them as less competent. This age effect was frequently seen as intertwined with gender effects. The women discussed a range of strategies that they used to 'ageproof' themselves and so protect their careers by masking signs of age. We then put their accounts in the macro context of the New Zealand labour market, asking: What evidence is there that older women are disadvantaged in the job market? And what evidence is there that further education offsets this disadvantage? We also set out to identify gaps in the current data, and to suggest useful areas for future research.

Labour Market Trends and Outlook

This paper provides an overview of trends in the New Zealand economy and labour market in 2001 and 2002, and the outlook for 2003 and 2004. More people than ever before have been attracted into the New Zealand labour market during the last two years -from outside the labour force and from around the world- encouraged by robust growth in employment and wages, low unemployment, and employers who are finding it difficult to find suitable staff. The main driver of improving labour market conditions has been strong growth in the New Zealand economy (an average of 3 ½ per cent per annum in the last three years), despite the recent downturn in the world economy. The pattern of economic growth has changed in recent years, leading to varying rates of employment growth by industry and region. Nevertheless, labour market conditions have improved across the majority of regions, as well as across most of the broad ethnic and age groups, and by gender. The outlook is for the New Zealand economy to experience solid growth over the next two years, although there are important upside and downside risks. The positive central outlook is expected to see labour market conditions remain relatively strong during 2003 and 2004.

Globalisation and the Labour Market

This paper explores the consequences of globalisation for the labour markets. By defining globalisation as 'the consequence of the diminishing costs of distance the analysis is able to use the economist's standard trade theory to show explore the impact of globalisation on labour mobility in the impact of trade of labour conditions, and of differential mobility (the favouring of skilled migrants over unskilled migrants). Some consideration is given to the particular circumstances of the New Zealand labour market. One conclusion of this - all to brief- paper is to insist that migration must be seen in the context of a particular sort of globalisation of the labour market.

Immigration Policy and New Zealand's Development into the 21st Century: Review and Speculation

This article reviews the impacts of changes in immigration policy since the 1980s on New Zealand's population, with particular reference to the labor market, and discusses recent initiatives in strengthening policies for New Zealand's development in the 21st century. The policy objectives of encouraging the immigration of highly skilled people and those with capital to invest in business development initially drew favorable response, especially from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea. However, the actual experiences of migrants in the New Zealand labor market and business environment were much less positive. Immigrants from Asian countries were found to have high levels of unemployment. Another concern is the emigration of skilled people from New Zealand. The government has undertaken a review of immigration policies and is supporting a longitudinal study of immigrant experiences. The final section speculates on prospects for immigration and the labor force into the 21st century, bearing in mind the evolving immigration policy environment.

The New Zealand Labour Market: Recent Trends and Future Prospects

This paper outlines developments over the past 15 years in the New Zealand labour market, concentrating on the recent period, and discusses the likely outlook for the next few years. Changes in the labour market in the past two years have, to varying degrees, reflected recovery in the New Zealand economy from the weakness that was recorded during 1997-98. One common theme in the labour market over the past two years has been the uneven nature of the recovery, both across sectors and over time.

The New Zealand Labour Market: Recent Trends and Future Prospects

This paper presents information on past trends in the labour market since the mid 1980's and provides an outlook into the first years of the next century. Trends disaggregated by gender; ethnicity and industry are considered.

Ethnicity and Job Tenure in a Segmented Labour Market: The Case for New Zealand

The labour market experience of 1984–1992 turned on end the prevailing notion of ‘personal security’ within New Zealand, founded as it was upon guaranteed employment (and full‐employment in the aggregate). This study examines, in a systematic fashion and within a dynamic setting, why job tenure varied consistently over this period between two ethnic groups, the first comprised of European/Pakeha workers, and the second New Zealand Maori and Pacific Islanders.Econometric analyses of total, voluntary and involuntary separations indicate that the low relative job security of Maori/Pacific Islanders cannot be attributed solely to differential attributes that, on the one hand represent such individuals’ gender/age distribution, qualifications, and conditions of employment, and on the other provide controls for the relative competitive positions of their employers. Rather, other factors, such as worker segmentation, are likely operative within the New Zealand labour market, conditions that, on net, work to the disadvantage of non‐Europeans.

The long‐run determinants of wages in the New Zealand labour market, 1965–1991

Using the Johansen multivariate approach to modelling the long‐run model, a single stable cointegration vector was obtained covering the period 1965–1991. This is interpreted as the long‐run relationship determining wages, whereby increases in the capital‐to‐labour ratio and upward movement in the replacement ratio both increased the real product wage. Unemployment was found to be an important variable determining the long‐run wage, but since it enters the model in a log‐linear fashion it has a variable elasticity, such that for long periods when unemployment was low it had a relatively small impact in terms of reducing real wages. These results therefore suggest that real wage growth is determined by product market conditions through productivity and unemployment, although “supply‐side” disincentives are also important determinants of “wage‐push”. By extending the long‐run model to include short‐run dynamics, it is possible to estimate that when there are changes to the underlying equilibrium between rea...

Flexibility in the New Zealand labour market: national or sectional interest?

The notion is explored that the New Zealand Employment Contracts Act of 1991 was designed to serve the national interest. A hypothesis is proposed that the legislation is perceived in two different ways. It is suggested that some see the act as a method of increasing economic efficiency and furthering the national interest, whereas others interpret the act as a means of supporting sectional interest: that of employers. The hypothesis is tested by several investigations of a data set that consists of a survey of labour market participants in Dunedin on the eve of the passage of the legislation. The findings support the hypothesis and the results are discussed with reference to future implications.

Labour market segmentation and the state: the New Zealand experience

This paper analyzes the role of the state in the historical process of labor market segmentation. The paper utilizes the existing segmentation literature and develops a framework to understand the state's role in segmentation. The New Zealand labor market is then used as an example of the state's role in the process of labor market segmentation. (c) Academic Press Ltd. Copyright 1995 by Oxford University Press.

Flexibility, Casualization and Externalization in the New Zealand workforce

The New Zealand Employment Contracts Act was introduced in 1991 to make the labour market more flexible. However, it is far from clear that the New Zealand labour market was inflexible. This paper represents the results of a survey of employers which was conducted when the Employment Contracts Act was conting into effect. The paper finds that the labour market was not inflexible and that employers had been able to successfully casualize and externalize labour under the pre-existirzg legal environment. The study finds further that the employer pursuit of flexibility was not part of an unrelenting drive to achieve new forms of work but was, in general, an opportunistic reaction to recession. Furthermore, employers anticipate that growth in employment, when it comes, will be in perma nent full-time jobs rather than in casual or externalized employment.

The New Zealand Labour Market - An Update

The purpose of this paper is to briefly outline recent developments in the New Zealand labour market and some of the key features which characterise it. The material presented in this paper is an updated version of that originally prepared for the Prime Ministerial Taskforce on Employment.

Segmentation Theory and the New Zealand Labour Market

Segmented Labour Market (SLM) analysis by no means enjoys a unified or clearly structured theoretical base. Analysts emphasise a variety of factors in their explanations of the existence of inequalities in the labour market. This paper uses an industry approach to evaluate inequalities. A case study of two industries is used -the plastics industry and the hotel/ restaurant industry- on the assumption that each will exhibit characteristics defining them as primary and secondary sectors respectively. The paper focuses on indicative findings of both inter-industry and intra-industry labour market segmentation. The approach taken is part of a broader doctoral thesis, which seeks to establish a viable SLM paradigm within the context of post-ECA New Zealand labour market conditions.