Auckland records fastest growth, report finds

11 July 2007

Auckland’s population grew faster than any other region and accordingly, its labour force grew faster than the national average between the 2001 and 2006 Censuses, a new report released today by the Department of Labour finds.

“With some of New Zealand’s biggest cities in the region, Auckland has a relatively young, well-qualified population and labour market indicators have improved markedly in the past six years,” said Grant Power, Labour Market Knowledge Manager Auckland, Department of Labour.

“Unemployment has declined* and employment and labour market participation rates have increased; with a participation rate in 2006 of 68.6%.”

The Annual In-Depth Regional Report for the Auckland Region describes in detail the characteristics of the Auckland 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 Auckland Regional Council boundaries and, where available, the constituent territorial authority boundaries of North Shore, Waitakere, Auckland and Manukau cities; and Rodney, Papakura and Franklin districts,” Mr Power said.

“With one of the most buoyant housing markets in New Zealand it is not surprising to see Auckland’s employment growth has been mainly in the property and business services industry, which added more than 23,000 jobs between 2001 and 2006. The retail trade followed with 8922 new jobs and finance and insurance 7101 new jobs.

“More Aucklanders work in large firms than the rest of New Zealand with 34% employed by businesses with 100 or more employees, compared with a national average of 29%.

“Looking forward, the Auckland region is expected to continue to grow faster than the national average. We expect future employment growth in all industries will be significant in the CBD area, Auckland airport and its surrounding areas, East Tamaki, Albany basin and Onehunga-Panmure.

“These out-of-centre areas are sought-after locations for the more land-hungry business activities of manufacturing and wholesale and related business services. Demand is also expected to be high for business parks for industrial and commercial activities in suitable Greenfield areas that can provide facilities such as parking, staff recreation and services in park-like surroundings. This can be seen in recent developments such as Highbrook Business Park in Manukau.”

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

* Auckland’s unemployment rate declined from 7.8% at the time of the 2001 Census to 5.6% 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 Auckland population information:

In 2006 just over 1,303,000 people lived in the Auckland region with 404,658 in Auckland city and 328,965 in Manukau city. Auckland experienced one of the largest net gains in people aged 15-24 years old, reflecting the region is a significant centre for tertiary study. Migrants from overseas make up a relatively large share of the Auckland population. In 2006, 35% of the population was born overseas compared with a national average of 22%. In the Auckland region Asian ethnic groups make up 18% of the population, compared with 9% nationally and Pacific Peoples ethnic groups make up 14%, compared with 7% nationally.