An overview of labour force participation in Auckland, as indicated by results of Stats NZ's quarterly Household Labour Force Survey. HLFS

Overview and highlights

For the September 2024 quarter, compared to the preceding quarter (June 2024):

• Auckland’s unemployment rate was 5.2%, higher than 4.6% in March 2024, (the highest in four years, but lower than 2009 to 2016).
• The number of people who were unemployed rose to 54,200 (+5,900, up 12%).
• The number of people employed fell slightly to 994,900 (-9,800, a 1% decrease).
• The number of people not in the labour force (NILF) rose to 392,900 (+10,100, up 3%).
• The labour force participation rate (LFPR) fell to 72.8%, the lowest in two years but still higher than 1995 to 2022. LFPR since 2021 have been at record levels.

In addition, for the September 2024 quarter:

• The rate of people aged 15 to 24 not in employment, education or training (NEET) was 12.1%, slightly above the rest of New Zealand (10.9%) and above a year ago (10.2%).

Over the year ended September 2024, compared to the year ended September 2023:

• The unemployment rate averaged 4.7%, higher than a year earlier (2023: 3.6%).
• The unemployment rate increase was highest for young people aged 15 to 19 (+7.9% to 22.9%) and to a lesser extent ages 20 to 24 (+2.0% to 9.1%), but also affected ages 55 and over (+0.7% to3.1%), 40 to 54 (+0.6% to 2.7%) and 25 to 39 (+0.7% to 3.7%).
• The unemployment rate for females averaged 5.1%, above the previous year (3.9%). The rate for males averaged 4.2% (above 3.3% a year prior), so the gap between males and females (0.9%) widened back to similar to the 20-year average (0.8%).
• Unemployment rates varied between the main ethnic groups, but rose for each of them: Māori (9.7%, up from 7.8%), Pacific peoples (8.6%, up from 6.9%), European (3.7%, up from 2.6%), and Asian (4.2%, up from 3.2%).
• The labour force participation rate (LFPR) averaged 73.6%, slightly lower than a year earlier (74.4%) but remaining higher than any time before 2023.
• The LFPR fell slightly more for females (68.8%, down 1.0% from 69.8%) than for males (78.5, down 0.5%%); the differential rose (to 9.7%), but has halved since 1995 (19.0%).
• Labour force participation rates fell for those aged 15-19 (down 4.0% to 43.3%) and 20 to 24 (down 2.4% to 79.0%), but fell only slightly or no change for ages 25-39 (88.2%, no change), ages 40-54 (88.1%, down 1.1%) and ages 55+ (52.0%, down 0.5%).
• Labour force participation rates by ethnic group fell slightly for Pacific peoples (65.5%, down 1.7%), Māori (-1.8% to 68.2%) and Asian (76.9%, -1.2%), with minimal change for European (74.8%). All have been at or near record levels since 2022.

In addition, over the year ended September 2024:

• The annual average NEET rate for Auckland was 13.1%, slightly above the rest of New Zealand (12.1%), and above the year ended September 2023 (11.0%).
• Auckland NEET rates were highest for Māori (23.6%) and Pacific (20.1%) ethnicities, and for the Southern Initiative area (22.3%).
• Auckland’s NEET rate was higher for those aged 20-24 (15.4%) than 15-19 (10.8%).

Overview published December 2024.

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