Employment

Indicators
Introduction
1. Employment
2. Unemployment
3. Labour force participation
4. Participation in unpaid work
5. Discussion
Data sources
References

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Indicators

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Introduction

The income levels of most adults in the working age population depend heavily on both their own and any partner's labour force involvement. The growing proportion of adults living without a partner makes individual involvement increasingly important for both women and men. For parents, paid work involvement or the lack of it determines not only the level of income for themselves and their children, but also the time and energy available for child-rearing. Although decisions about labour force involvement are made by individuals, these decisions are heavily influenced by social relations and commitments, including unpaid work responsibilities.

The data used in this chapter give a broad picture of statistical trends in labour market involvement for Māori women, non-Māori women, Māori men and non-Māori men over the last fifteen years. Indicators are based mainly on the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) series, which:

is a long-term, regular time series, beginning in the December quarter of 1985
has retained the same definitions of ethnicity throughout
In the HLFS, ethnicity is self-identified, and not attributed by the head of the household. Anyone aged over 15 years within the scope of the survey may be asked to complete the household questionnaire, which includes the ethnicity section. Individuals are shown a list of 10 ethnic groups, from which they can choose up to three. (In June 1990, the category 'Other Pacific' was added to the list that respondents could choose from.) See 'About the Data' in the Introduction for detailed discussion on classifications of ethnicity.
is the official measure of unemployment in New Zealand
uses international definitions and classifications. (For full definitions of the categories used in the HLFS, see Labour Market Annual Volume, Wellington, Statistics NZ.)
While HLFS data is seasonally adjusted, this adjustment is not available by sex and ethnicity combined. This tends to have more impact on the data for Māori, especially Māori women, reflecting their greater involvement in casual and seasonal employment - although it should be noted that there is very little information on non-standard forms of employment.

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Labour force categories and rates
The HLFS surveys people aged 15 and over in a sample of households. Each person in this age group - the working age population - is assigned to one of three mutually exclusive groups - employed, unemployed or not in the labour force. The use of each category depends on the definition of a person's activity during the survey reference period. (Both the HLFS and the Census are subject to non-sample error.)

To be defined as participating in the labour force, people must be defined as either employed or unemployed. The unemployed must be without paid work, be available for work, and have actively sought work in the four weeks ending with the survey reference period or have a new job to start within four weeks. 'Actively seeking' means doing more to look for work than just looking in news papers.

Those who are out of work, but temporarily unavailable for work, are defined as 'not in the labour force', and are not counted as unemployed. This means that people with childcare responsibilities (predominantly women) are likely to be defined as 'not in the labour force', even if they want and are looking for paid work, because they are unlikely to have alternative care available immediately.

Joblessness is defined more widely than unemployment. The 'jobless' include three groups of people: those who are officially unemployed; those who are without work, and available for paid work, but are not actively seeking it; and those who are without work, and actively seeking paid work, but not available to start immediately (for example, because of childcare responsibilities or because they are studying). The second and third groups are defined as 'not in the labour force' because they are not in employment and do not fit the definition of unemployment.

Sample error
The numbers of Māori women and men included in the HLFS are too low to give detailed information when data which is already broken down by sex and ethnicity is then further broken down by categories such as industry, occupation, or long-term unemployment. (However, because long-term unemployment is one of the indicators selected for this report, this information has been included.)

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1. Employment

1.1 Employment rate
(Note that the employment rate expressed here is lower than would be the case if the denominator was restricted to those aged 15-64 (i.e. this more likely to be employed). In addition, the inclusion of those aged 65+ may distort the standardisation of the employment rate due to low numbers employed in this age group. This is particularly true for Māori.)

Position of Māori women: In the year to June 2000, on average of 44.1% of all Māori women aged 15 and over were employed.

Table B1. Employment rates,* average for year to June 2000

The employment rate is the number of employed expressed as a percentageof the population aged 15 and over.
Source: Statistics NZ, Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), age standardised to the total working-age population.

As Table B1 shows, Māori women's employment rate in the year to June 2000 was on average 11 percentage points lower than the rate for non-Māori women. There was a similar disparity between the rates for Māori and non-Māori men. However, the gender disparities were wider, at 16 percentage points between Māori women and men, and 15 between non-Māori women and men.

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Full-time employment
Full-time employment is defined as usually working 30 hours or more per week. The HLFS data (Figure B1) show that the gap between the full-time employment rates for Māori and non-Māori women widened through the late 1980s. By June 2000, the rate for Māori women was only a little lower than the rate for non-Māori women. Men's full-time rates have altered much more than women's full-time employment rates since December 1985, with a particularly steep fall for Māori men in the early 1990s. By the June quarter of 2000 the disparity between Māori and non-Māori men was 8 percentage points, compared with 6 points in 1986.

Figure B1. Full-time employment rates,* 1985-2000

 
The full-time employment rate is number of full-time employed expressed as a percentage of the population aged 15 and over.
Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS, age standardised to the total working-age population.

Part-time employment rates
Part-time employment, defined as usually working for at least 1 hour and less than 30 hours per week, has grown for both women and men since 1985 (Figure B2). But it has not made up the full-time employment shortfall, particularly for Māori. The gap between Māori and non-Māori women widened in the early 1990s, though higher proportions of women in both groups now have part-time jobs. A similar pattern is apparent for men, though the Māori/non-Māori gap is much narrower and the percentages employed part-time are much smaller.

Figure B2. Part-time employment rates,* 1985-2000

Note that the scale in Figure B2 differs from that presented in Figure B1
The part-time employment rate is the number of part-time employed expressed as a percentage of the population aged 15 and over.
Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS, age standardised to the total working-age population.

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Employment among those aged 25-54
Figures 3, 4 and 5 show employment rate trends since December 1985 for those aged 25-54. These
years are generally considered to be the prime working age years. (Some commentators (e.g. Callister, 1998) extend the 'prime working age years' to 59.)

Figure B3. Employment rates for ages 25-34, 1985-2000

Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS

Figure B4. Employment rates for ages 35-44, 1985-2000

Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS

Figure B5. Employment rates for ages 45-54, 1985-2000

Source: Statistics NZ, Household Labour Force Series.

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Age 25-34
As Figure B3 shows, employment rate patterns over the last 15 years differ markedly for each of the four groups aged 25-34. Rates for Māori women and men in this age group have run roughly parallel, though the gap between the two has narrowed because of the overall fall in male employment. Rates for non-Māori women and men also run parallel, though both groups had a much smaller decline in employment in the early 1990s than did Māori women and men. In the 1990s, the overall gender gap between men and women narrowed as men's employment fell and women's rose.

The gaps between Māori and non-Māori employment rates were wider in June 2000 than they were in 1986. For women the gap is widening mainly due to a larger increase in employment for non-Māori women. For men it is due to a larger decrease for Māori men. In the June quarter of 2000, Māori women's employment rate was around 50%, roughly the same as in June 1986. But the rate for non-Māori women was 65%, up from 61%. Māori men's employment rate was a little over 75% in the June quarter of 2000, down from 87% in 1986, whereas non-Māori men's rate was 87%, down from 93%.

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Age 35-44
As Figure B4 shows, employment rate disparities among all four groups aged 35-44 have moved differently from disparities for the 25-34 age group. In the June quarter of 2000, employment rates for both Māori women (67%) and non-Māori women (72%) were much the same as they were in 1986, so the disparity between the two was unchanged.

However, the disparity between Māori and non-Māori men widened over the same period. By 2000, Māori men's employment rate was around 72% (about the same as the rate for non-Māori women), compared with 87% in 1986, a drop of 15 percentage points. Non-Māori men's employment rate was around

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Age 45-54
Rates for Māori women and men in this group run along similar lines over the last 15 years (Figure B5), though the gap between the two narrowed because of the overall fall in male employment in the late 1980s/early 1990s. A recent increase in Māori male employment suggests that the gap is widening again. Rates for non-Māori women and men also run along similar lines, though both groups had a much smaller decline in employment in the early 1990s than did Māori. The overall gap between men and women narrowed (but less so for Māori) as men's employment fell and women's rose. In this age group, the widest disparity is now that between Māori women and men: about 20 percentage points in June 2000, compared with about 14 points between non-Māori women and men.

Māori women and non-Māori women have both greatly increased their employment rate since 1986, although the increase has been much more uneven for Māori women. For Māori men in this age group, the employment rate declined sharply from the mid 1980s to a low point of around 60% in the early 1990s. Recently it has risen again, to 83% in June 2000. Meanwhile the rate for non-Māori men has fallen from over 94% in June 1986 to 89% in June 2000, so that the disparity between Māori and non-Māori men has narrowed.

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Under-employment
The HLFS asks all employed people whether they would prefer to work more hours (in paid employment) than they usually do each week. This is not an official measure of under-employment, but does give some indication of trends over time. (The HLFS data on under-employment should be regarded as indicative only. Because of its volatility, it should be viewed in terms of trends in time, rather than focusing on point-in-time estimates.) It is clear that since the early 1990s, the percentage of each group wanting more hours has risen steeply, particularly for women, and most noticeably for Māori women (see Figure B6). Again, these trends indicate that the growth in part-time jobs has not made up for the loss of full-time work and more substantial part-time hours of paid work since 1986, particularly in areas of employment where hourly earnings are low. The HLFS does not ask employed people whether they would like fewer paid work hours, or whether additional hours worked would result in additional earnings.

Figure B6. Under-employment as a proportion of the employed, 1985-2000

Note these graph lines have been smoothed to improve clarity.
Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS, age standardised to the total employed population.

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2. Unemployment

2.1 Unemployment rate
Position of Māori women: In the year to June 2000, the average unemployment rate for Māori women was 12.8% of all Māori women in the labour force.

Table B2. Unemployment rates,* year to June 2000

Unemployment rates is the number of unemployed expressed as a percentage of the labour force.
Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS, age standardised to the total labour force.

As Table B2 shows, there is a large gap between Māori and non-Māori unemployment rates. The disparities between Māori and non-Māori unemployment rates are much larger than the disparities between male and female rates within each ethnic group.

The unemployment rates for Māori women and men have tracked each other very closely over the last 15 years (Figure B7), as have the non-Māori rates. There was a sharp surge in rates for Māori women and men in the early 1990s, and another, smaller surge in the late 1990s, followed by a recent decline.

Figure B7. Unemployment rates, 1985-2000

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2.2 Jobless rate
Position of Māori women: In the year to June 2000, the average jobless rate for Māori women was 20.5% of all Māori women who were either employed or jobless.

Table B3. Jobless rates,* Year to June 2000   

Jobless rates is the number of joblessexpressed as a perecentage of the employed plus the jobless.
Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS, age standardised to the total employed plus the jobless.

As Table B3 shows, the main disparity in joblessness is between Māori and non-Māori. The rates for Māori women and men are very close, as are the rates for non-Māori women and men. Not surprisingly, jobless rates are higher overall than unemployment rates.

The patterns for joblessness over the last 15 years (Figure B8) are similar to those for unemployment. However, for both Māori and non-Māori, women tend to have higher jobless rates than men, whereas there is almost no gender disparity in unemployment rates. One reason for this difference is that the criteria for unemployment tend to exclude women with childcare responsibilities.

Both unemployment and joblessness are highest among those aged 15-24, and the Māori/non-Māori disparity is highest for this age group. However, in 2000, Māori unemployment and jobless rates through the prime employment years of 25-54 remained around twice as high as non-Māori rates. (High sample errors are likely when unemployment and joblessness data are broken down by age as well as by ethnicity and sex. )

Figure B8. Jobless rates, 1985-2000

Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS, age standardised to the total employed plus the jobless.

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2.3 Long-term unemployment rate
Position of Māori women: In the year to June 2000, an average of 4.6% of Māori women in the labour force had been unemployed for more than 26 weeks.

Table B4. Long-term unemployment rates,* year to June 2000

Long-term unemployment rates is the number unemployed for more than 26 weeks, expressed as a percentage of the labour force.
Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS.

Table B4 shows long-term unemployment rates for June 2000. While the data for Māori long-term unemployment is subject to a high degree of sample error, the pattern of rates shown by the HLFS over the last 15 years indicates that Māori women and men are well over twice as likely as non-Māori women and men to be unemployed long-term. (Note that this data has not been age standardised because of the high degree of volatility.)

Position of Māori women: In the year to June 2000, an average of 50.7% of all Māori women aged 15 and over were defined as participating in the labour force, that is, as either employed or unemployed.

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3. Labour force participation

3.1 Labour force participation rate
Table B5. Labour force participation rates,* year to June 2000

Labourforce participation rates is the number of employed plus unemployed,expressed as apercentage of the population aged 15 and over.
Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS, age standardised to the total working-age population.

As Table B5 shows, in the year to June 2000 the gender disparities in labour force participation between Māori women and men and between non-Māori women and men were almost the same, around 16 percentage points. These disparities were twice as wide as those between Māori and non-Māori women and between Māori and non-Māori men.

Data on labour force participation give a good indication of the long-term trends in women's and men's involvement in paid work. Over the last 40 years, 'the longest established trends have been the steadily increasing involvement of women, and the gradual decline in male labour force participation'.

Figure B9 shows the pattern for the last 15 years. Participation for women has been steady over this period although non-Māori women have higher participation rates than Māori women. Men's participation rates have declined for both groups of men; but the decline has generally been steeper for Māori men, and recovery from the slump which began in the late 1980s has been slower. By 2000 the rates for Māori and non-Māori men were still about 3 percentage points further apart than they had been in 1986.

Figure B9. Labour force participation rates, 1985-2000

Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS, age standardised to the total working-age population.

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Labour force participation by age
Figures B10 and B11 compare labour force participation rates (LFPR) by age group for average years to June in 1987 and in 2000 to give an indication of participation at different stages of life for each of the four groups at the beginning and end of the last 13 years. Looking at the various age groups also takes account of the fact that Māori and non-Māori populations have different age profiles. (These graphs are indicative only, as Māori sample sizes at each age are small, and rates can vary by several percentage points between quarters, but they do show the similarities in the patterns for each sex. The data give snapshots of the various age groups at one point in time. To gain a clearer picture of life cycle changes, participation would need to be tracked over time for different age cohorts, disaggregated by sex and ethnicity.)

Māori and non-Māori participation rates in Figure B11 show that gender disparities are greater than Māori/non-Māori disparities at every working age. (Statistics NZ (1998), p.42.)

Figure B10. LFPR by age group: average for year to June 1987

Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS

Figure B11. LFPR by age group: average for year to June 2000

Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS

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Age 15-24
Participation has fallen for Māori and non-Māori men and non-Māori women in this age group between 1987 and 2000, although participation for Māori women has changed little. The rapid growth in school retention and participation in post-compulsory education has been the main factor pushing down overall youth participation rates, but rising rates of youth unemployment have also been involved.

Around 50% of young Māori women are now likely to be in the labour force, compared with around 60% of non-Māori women. Young Māori and non-Māori men are almost equally likely to be in the labour force. For non-Māori women and men aged 15-24, the gender disparity in participation has shrunk to around 5 percentage points and for Māori women and men it has shrunk to around 13 percentage points.

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Age 25-34
Māori women and men in this age group are less likely to be in the labour force than non-Māori women and men. The difference is greater between the two groups of women (around 13 percentage points) than between the two groups of men (around 6 percentage points).

All women aged 25-34 have increased their participation since 1985, but non-Māori women have done so to a greater extent.

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Age 35-44
For Maori women, participation now peaks at 35-44, whereas for non-Māori women it peaks at 45-54, and for men it peaks between 25 and 54. The disparity between Māori and non-Māori is a little narrower for women than for men.

The gender disparity continues to be wider than the Māori/non-Māori disparity, but it is narrower for age 35-44 than for ages 25-34. This gender disparity is now wider for non-Māori than for Māori, due mainly to a dip in participation for Māori men aged 35-44, compared with non-Māori men of this age.

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Age 45-54
Over the last 13 years, Māori women aged 45-54 have shown the biggest growth in participation of any group, from around 55% to almost 70%. For men aged 45-54, participation continues to be around 85% for Māori men, and over 90% for non-Māori men.

The gender gap at this age is wider for Māori than for non-Māori, because despite their greatly increased participation, Māori women in this age group are still less likely to be in the labour force than non-Māori women.

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Age 55-64
This age group shows large Māori/non-Māori disparities in labour force participation, around 12 percentage points between Māori and non-Māori women and 14 percentage points between Māori and non-Māori men. This is of concern, in view of the fact that National Superannuation is not available until age 65. Comparing 1987 with 2000, for Māori, there has been a decline for men and a small increase for women. For non-Māori, there has been an increase for men and a larger increase for women.

For those aged 55-64, unemployment is likely to last longer than for younger workers. Women in this age group may find it harder to return to the workforce after a long absence from it. Knowledge about trends in the labour force participation of this age group is scarce, particularly for women.

4. Participation in unpaid work

Position of Māori women: The 1998/99 New Zealand Time Use survey shows participation rates of 98% for Māori women and girls aged 12 and over in unpaid work inside the home, and 71% in unpaid work outside the home.

Table B6. Percent participating in unpaid work within and outside the household, age 12+ (in the 4 weeks prior to the survey), 1998/99 

Source: NZ Time Use Survey data.

The New Zealand Time Use Survey has provided the first comprehensive set of data on unpaid work. (The first major report on the Time Use Survey was published in May 2001. Data for this report was supplied by Statistics New Zealand, which conducted the survey, in conjunction with the Ministry of Women's Affairs.) Table B6 sums up participation inside and outside the household. More detailed Time Use Survey data shows that in every category of unpaid work outside the home, women were more likely to take part than men, and Māori were more likely to take part than non-Māori (except for men doing committee work). Nearly 50% of Māori women spent time looking after children who were not household members, compared with 34% of non-Māori women. The Time Use Survey also showed high involvement by Māori, particularly women, in cultural maintenance activities, such as learning and teaching the Māori language. The 1996 Census question on unpaid work participation showed a similar pattern.

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Time spent on unpaid work
Table B7 shows average hours spent in five types of productive work, (The activity categories used in this table are the same as those used to value unpaid work with the exception of education, which has been included here as a productive activity.) inside and outside the household, by Māori and non-Māori women and men aged 15 and over. For women, unpaid work commitments take up much more time than they do for men. Māori spend more time on unpaid work outside their own households than non-Māori, and also more time on self-education (the latter is likely to be related to their younger age structure).

It is clear that when both paid and unpaid work is considered, all four groups are spending a similar amount of time on productive activities. For women, unlike men, these activities are predominantly unpaid. Māori women and men have fewer hours of paid market work than their non-Māori counterparts.

Table B7. Average hours per week spent on productive activities

Source: NZ Time Use Survey data

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5. Discussion

5.1 Changing demand for labour
Changes in employment and unemployment rates for Māori and non-Māori women and men over the last 15 years appear to be related mainly to changing demand in different segments of the labour market. While men dominated the majority of job losses across all ethnic groups, Māori, both men and women, were concentrated in those segments where the loss was heaviest. Employment in manufacturing, in particular, underwent changes resulting in job losses which 'were unevenly spread, with much of the decreases experienced falling largely upon the Māori and Pacific Islands populations'. (Honey & Lindop (1997), pp.15-16. Census data was used in this analysis.)

At the same time, there was a 'shift in the share of industries towards the tertiary sector, along with a movement in occupational structures towards the more skilled occupations'. (Honey & Lindop (1997), p.49.) The Finance, Insurance and Property industries, the Professional and Technical occupations, and the Administrative and Managerial occupations, have all increased their share of full-time employment significantly.

Since the March quarter of 1991, Māori women have significantly increased their rate of employment in white collar occupations, though they are less likely than non-Māori women or non-Māori men to be employed in these. Māori men are much less likely than any other group to be employed in white collar occupations, and the most likely to be in blue collar occupations. (White Collar Occupations: Legislators, administrators, and managers; Professionals; Technicians and associate professionals; Clerks; and Service and Sales workers. Blue Collar Occupations: Agriculture and fishery workers; Trades workers; Plant and machine operators and assemblers; and Elementary occupations.) These relationships can be seen in Figures B12 and B13.

Figure B12. Employment rate in white collar occupations

Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS, age standardised to the total working-age population

Figure B13. Employment rate in blue collar occupations

Source: Statistics NZ, HLFS, age standardised to the total working-age population

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5.2 Differences in individual characteristics
There is widespread debate over the extent to which differences in individual characteristics, such as levels of education - that is, 'supply-side' factors - explain differences in employment and participation. These factors are strongly affected by social structures, such as the gendered division of labour. They do not explain the full extent of the labour force differences between Māori and non-Māori, or between women and men. (For example, Alexander et al. (2000) find that Māori, Pacific Island and other non-European ethnic groups suffer labour market discrimination which is not explainable by otherwise observable characteristics, such as qualifications.)

In recent qualitative research with low income Māori, (Family Centre (1998).) participants perceived that their own lack of education had prevented them from getting work. Other commonly perceived barriers to employment ranged from the immediate and personal (such as level of motivation) to the deep and structural (such as discrimination affecting access to education and employment).

The research also showed that where people had undertaken part-time or short-term work, it tended to be voluntary or 'under the table'. The system of benefit abatement rates and the extra costs incurred in work were important factors in this pattern. Lack of access to quality childcare which was affordable and in which they felt confident was identified by sole parents and couples as another barrier to employment. Others felt that looking after children was important full-time work in itself.

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5.3 Education
For both men and women, labour participation and employment are lowest among those with no qualifications, and highest among those with post-school qualifications. The gender gap is smallest where men and women both hold post-school qualifications.

Māori are much more likely than non-Māori to have low or no qualifications (see Education and Income). This reduces their employment and earnings prospects. But the consequences of lack of qualifications differ for Māori and non-Māori, so that having no qualifications imposes 'an exceptionally high penalty on Māori' (Winkelmann & Winkelmann (1997) p.57.) in higher rates of unemployment and low-paid employment.

Gender differences related to education also play a major role. Until recently, women in the labour force had generally lower levels of qualification than men. (Dixon (1999), p.4.) This difference is now being reversed among younger people, particularly younger Māori women compared with younger Māori men (see Education). However, when people with the same level of higher qualifications are compared, having higher qualifications does not generally advantage women as much as men, in terms of earnings (see Income).

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5.4 Other work-related skills and experience
In New Zealand there appear to be large gender differences in accumulated years of work experience, though this difference has reduced since 1986. (Dixon (1999) has tracked the average employment rates of birth cohorts across censuses to build up 'quasi-cohort' estimates of the average number of years of full-time work experience.) Among sole parents, work experience and training before becoming a sole parent appears to be a key factor in patterns of workforce participation. Those with less accumulated work experience and less experience of skilled employment are likely to spend the longest time out of the workforce. The pattern for partnered mothers is likely to be similar.

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5.5 Earnings
Māori women's earnings are consistently lower than those of any other group, but the major disparity is the gender gap between women's and men's earnings (see Income). The effects of this gap on the supply of and demand for labour are not clear. Over the last 15 years, the increase in labour market involvement among both Māori and non-Māori women has been much more marked than the reduction in the gender pay gap. (Dixon (1999, pp.5-6), cites US evidence that 'the actual increases in women's employment rates and annual hours of work were much larger than those that would be predicted solely on the basis of the changes in women's real hourly earnings' between 1975 and 1994, indicating that the gender pay gap does not have straightforward influences on women's labour force participation.) However, lower earnings among women, particularly Māori women, are likely to impede obtaining further education and/or training, thus constraining low-paid women's ability to improve their labour market position.

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5.6 Unpaid work
Both Māori and non-Māori women spend, on average, over 30 hours a week in unpaid work inside the household. Taking on paid work does not significantly decrease hours of unpaid work for women, or increase them for male partners. (See, for example, Patricia Hewitt, About Time: The Revolution in Work and Family Life, IPPR/Rivers Oram Press, 1993.)

Heavier unpaid work commitments, particularly caring for dependents, continue to be a major factor in New Zealand women's lower labour market involvement (Else (1996), Statistics New Zealand and Ministry of Women's Affairs (2001).) 23. Māori and Pacific women are more likely than European women to have children at all ages up to 50 (Statistics New Zealand (1998), p.42) . Although labour force participation has increased for mothers of dependent children, these women, particularly mothers of children under 5, are likely to have lower labour force participation rates than other women, whether they are partnered or not. By contrast, partnered fathers are likely to have higher rates than other men (Callister (1999))

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5.7 Childcare
The growth of early childhood education and care services has enabled women to increase their labour force participation. It also provided just over 4% of the total jobs created in the economy between 1991 and 1996. But problems in accessing suitable, quality education and care for young children continue to affect women's ability to take on paid work, study/training, and other kinds of unpaid work.

The 1998 national childcare survey (Department of Labour & NACEW (1998). This survey was conducted as a supplement to the HLFS.) reported that childcare access problems were most likely to be a barrier to paid work participation for Māori mothers, sole mothers and mothers with low incomes. Among sole mothers, 30% reported this barrier, as did 25% of those mothers currently working part-time. The same survey showed that among the 22% of mothers (Only 5% of fathers from two-parent families reported such problems, though 27% of the small number of sole parent fathers did so.) who said that problems accessing childcare were a barrier to employment, cost was the main problem, mentioned by 47%. Among parents using early childhood education and care, 62% paid less than $10 a week per child. Problems of access to childcare were also a barrier to study/training for 12% of partnered mothers and 21% of sole mothers.

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5.8 Parental leave
Parental leave provisions play a vital role in women's ability to maintain labour force involvement after childbearing, and in particular to return to their previous level of employment and earnings. Women who are able to use leave provisions are much more likely to return to paid employment and overwhelmingly return to their previous employer. (MWA (1995).)

For the majority of New Zealand women, leave is unpaid and restricted to those who have worked more than ten hours a week over the last year for their current employer. This means that genuine access to leave is likely to be limited for women on low incomes and/or in casual or seasonal work. Māori and Pacific women are more likely to be in these categories. (MWA (1995).)

Sole parenthood intensifies the problems of combining paid and unpaid work, and the majority of sole mothers are in the prime working age group. In 1996, 17% of women aged 25-39 were sole mothers and 56.8% of all sole mothers were aged 25-39. Māori women are more likely to be sole parents in a one-parent family than women in any other ethnic group.

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5.9 Domestic violence
Domestic violence is another significant factor affecting women's employment, particularly for Māori women and for sole parents. (Levine et al (1993).) 30 Though New Zealand data is limited, it is estimated that one in seven New Zealand women have been assaulted by partners, and Māori women appear to be more likely to suffer partner violence (see Justice). Domestic violence prevents or inhibits women from obtaining paid employment or advancing their careers, makes retaining employment difficult, and negatively affects their work performance. (Pouwhare (1999).)

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5.10 'Work-rich' and 'work-poor' households
The employment disparities among individuals are heightened in households. Paul Callister (Callister (1998).) points out that in the prime working age years, both men and women are more likely to be in paid work if they are in couples, but this is less so for Māori couples. Employment also appears to be concentrating in families which are already 'work-rich' (at least one partner in full-time paid work and the other in part-time work) while others have become even more 'work-poor' (neither partner in full-time paid work). Education affects the growth of 'work-rich' and 'work-poor' households, since partners tend to have similar levels of education.

The loss of jobs for many prime-age men, particularly Māori men, 'appears to be a major factor behind the increase in work-poor families'. (Callister (1998), p.118.) It has also helped keep the proportion of these families at a high level. Women's employment has not made up for this loss, because:

'Women who have increased their participation in paid work have primarily been in couples with a partner already in paid work. Conversely, when men [in a couple] have moved out of paid work, generally their partners have also moved out of paid work or were not already in paid work.' (Callister (1998), p. 111.)

Census data for 1996 shows that among couples of 'prime working age' (which Callister defines as 25-59), 79% of 'work-rich' couples both classified themselves as European, compared with 42% of 'work-poor' couples. Among couples aged 25-59 with a child under 5, where both adults were Māori, 23% had no paid work.

Apart from changing labour demand, differences in individual characteristics, and factors related to gender, other significant factors in the growth of 'work-poor' households are the increasing insecurity of employment, combined with extremely high marginal tax rates on earnings by beneficiaries or their spouses, and the operation of the stand-down period. (See, for example, St John & Heynes (1994); Levine et al. (1993); Child Poverty Action Group (2001).) More women than men are adversely affected by these factors, as parents and as spouses. Māori are more likely to live in rural areas, where paid work opportunities are more likely to be limited or seasonal, so that these factors have more impact.

There has been a general trend for the proportion of families with one parent or partner in full-time employment to decrease, and for the proportion with no parent or partner in full-time employment to increase. It is families already on low incomes who have suffered most from the loss of full-time employment. These families are disproportionately Māori and/or headed by women. (Johnstone & Pool (1996). They note that 'This result is not a function of movement between family type'.)

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Data sources

The labour market information comes from the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) which is conducted by Statistics New Zealand. This is a sample survey of 30,000 individuals aged 15+, and has been conducted on a quarterly basis since December 1985. Unpaid work information came from the Time Use Survey, which was conducted by Statistics New Zealand over the 1998/99 year.

Both surveys are subject to sample and non-sample error. High volatility in the long-term unemployment rate and in the 'prefer to work more hours' time series, by ethnicity and sex, indicates high sample error. Caution should be exercised when considering point-in-time estimates for these indicators in particular, as the data is highly volatile.

Rates such as the labour force participation rate are calculated using population figures available from the HLFS. It should be noted that HLFS results are post-stratified - that is, the survey population is forced to equal the estimated actual population - by age and sex, but not by ethnicity. The reasons for this, concerning the lack of information on the ethnicity of migrants, are noted in 'About the Data'.

The age standardised rates for unemployment, joblessness and labour force participation were calculated by using data by age group provided by Statistics New Zealand. They are approximate for two reasons: where the data was suppressed (due to cells being less than 1,000), the value was assumed to be 0; and the data was presented in thousands and rounded to one decimal place before calculating the rate, rather than after.

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References

Alexander, W.R.J., Murat, G. & Mohammad, J. (2000). Māori Disadvantage in the Labour Market. Paper prepared for seminar, Economics Department, University of Otago, 25 August 2000.

Callister, P. (1998). 'Work-Rich' and 'Work-Poor' Individuals and Families: Changes Between 1986 and 1996. Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, 10, 101-121.

Callister, P. (1999). No job, No Wife? Families, Paid Work and Changes in Living Arrangements in New Zealand. In S. Birks and P. Callister (eds), Perspectics on Fathering II, Issues Paper No6. Pamerston North: Massey University.

Chapple, S. & Rea, D. (1998). Time Series Analysis of Disparity Between Māori and Non-Māori Labour Market Outcomes in the Household Labour Force Survey. Labour Market Bulletin 1 & 2, 127-144.

Child Poverty Action Group (2001). Our Children: The Priority for Policy. Auckland: Child Poverty Action Group Inc.

Davidson, C. & Bray, M. (1994). Women and Part-time Work in New Zealand. Wellington: New Zealand Institute for Social Research and Development.

Davies, L. & Jackson, N. (1993). Women's Labour Force Participation in New Zealand: The Past 100 Years. Wellington: Social Policy Agency, Department of Social Welfare.

Department of Labour/National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women (1999). Childcare, Families and Work, The New Zealand Childcare Survey 1998: A Survey of Early Childhood Education and Care Arrangements for Children. Wellington: Department of Labour.

Dixon, S. (1996). Growth in the Dispersion of Earnings: 1984-97, Wellington: Department of Labour.

Dixon, S. (1999). Gender Disparities in the Labour Market. Unpublished paper prepared for Labour Market Policy Group.

Else, A. (1996). The False Economy, Auckland: Tandem Press.

Family Centre Social Policy Research Unit (1998). Income and Māori Project: Report of the Qualitative Component. Unpublished report prepared for Te Puni Kökiri.

Honey, J. & Lindop, J. (1997). The Changing Structure of New Zealand's Labour Force, 1976-1996. Hamilton: Population Studies Centre, University of Waikato.

Jackson, N. & Pool, I. (1995). Familial Capacity: The Demographic Components of Caring Capacity, in Rights and Responsibilities, Wellington: International Year of the Family Committee and the Commissioner for Children.

Johnstone, K. & Pool, I. (1996). New Zealand Families: Size, Income and Labour Force Participation. Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, 7, 143-173.

Krishnan, V. (1994). What Does Unemployment Change Have in Store for the Unemployed in the 1990s? Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, 3, 121-141.

Levine, M., Wyn, H. & Asiasiga, L. (1993). Lone Parents and Paid Work: A Study of Employment Patterns and Barriers, and Options for Change. Wellington: Social Policy Agency, Department of Social Welfare.

Ministry of Women's Affairs (1995). Parental Leave Policies, Women and the Labour Market. MWA.

Morris, A. (1997). Women's Safety Survey 1996. Wellington: Victimisation Survey Committee.

Pouwhare, T. (1999). Māori Women and Work: The Effects of Family Violence on Māori Women's Employment Opportunities. Wellington: National Collective of Independent Women's Refuges.

St John, S. & Heynes, A. (1994). The Welfare Mess. Policy Discussion Paper No.15, Economics Department, University of Auckland. Auckland: University of Auckland.

Statistics New Zealand (1998). New Zealand Now: Women. Wellington: Statistics NZ.

Statistics New Zealand (2000). Labour Market Annual Volume. Wellington: Statistics NZ.

Statistics New Zealand & Ministry of Women's Affairs (2001). Around the Clock: Time Use Survey Analytical Report. Wellington: Statistics NZ.

Winkelmann, L. & Winkelmann, R. (1997). Determining the Relative Labour Force Status of Māori and Non-Māori Using a Multinomial Logit Model. Labour Market Bulletin, 1, 24-62.

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