New Zealand's underemployed: Working, but not enough
Monday, 25 June 2018
New Zealand might have a tight labour market, with falling numbers of people out of work, but that doesn't mean everyone has got all the work they want.
The country's unemployment rate has fallen to a total of 4.4 per cent, from 6.7 per cent in September 2012.
About 550,000 of the 2.6 million New Zealand workers are employed for fewer than 30 hours a week.
And of those working part-time, one in five would like to work more than they do - and could, if the work was offered to them.
READ MORE: New Zealand unemployment rate falls to the lowest level in nearly a decade
There were 112,300 people who counted as 'underemployed' in 2017 - 63,000 of whom were actively seeking more work.
About 65 per cent of the underemployed workers wanted to become full-time while 35 per cent wanted more hours but were willing to remain part-time.
'Underemployed people make up a third of the underutilised potential in New Zealand's labour market,' Stats NZ labour market manager Sean Broughton said.
'Despite our labour market being 'tight', these people are unsatisfied with their level of participation. People who are underemployed are of interest to both potential employers and to policy-makers.'
In June 2017, underemployed people earned an average of $302.30 a week for 15 hours' work. In comparison, part-timers who were not underemployed were earning $440.36 a week for 16 hours of work.
In the 2017 year, more than half (66,400) of underemployed people gave 'a lack of available work' as their reason for not working the hours they would like. This lack included the type of work they wanted, the hours they were available for, or the location they could travel to.
For part-time workers, some groups were especially likely to be underemployed: people under 30 years (28.3 per cent), Māori and Pacific peoples (31.2 per cent and 29.3 per cent, respectively), and parents with dependent children.
People employed on a casual basis had far higher rates of underemployment than those on permanent or fixed-term contracts.
Part-time workers with jobs in the retail trade and accommodation, or the arts and recreation industries were more likely to be underemployed. For occupations, part-time machinery operators and drivers, labourers, or community and personal service workers (including hospitality staff) were more likely to be underemployed.