Work and labour force status of people in New Zealand

2018 & 2023 Census, number of people aged 15+

The following information applies to all values in the table. Subject population: Census usually resident population, Age group: 15-*, Unit: Count
Census Year	Work and labour force status	Number of people
2018	Employed Full-time	1,891,371
2018	Employed Part-time	553,770
2018	Not in the Labour Force	1,180,179
2018	Unemployed	151,035
2023	Employed Full-time	2,077,071
2023	Employed Part-time	545,649
2023	Not in the Labour Force	1,314,774
2023	Unemployed	120,129

Data Quality

Using this data

Use this data with caution. This data was rated moderate quality by Stats NZ. Read the warnings and response rate metadata below before using.

Stats NZ gives data an overall rating based on sources and coverage, consistency, and data quality.

Why am I seeing this?

This data is from the Census. The past two censuses had relatively low response rates, particularly for some areas of New Zealand and groups of people.

Where information was missing or unreadable, Stats NZ attempted to use data from a range of places such as previous censuses or administrative data that is collected by other government agencies. If that isn't available, Stats NZ use statistical models to predict what the missing data would have been. This is called imputation.

Things to be aware of

These results are inconsistent with the Household Labour Force Survey for a number of reasons. In this table, the percentages are calculated by dividing each category by the ‘total stated’ population aged 15 years and over. This calculation is not consistent with the way official labour force indicators (such as the unemployment rate) are obtained. The census does not ask people who are not employed whether they have a job due to start in the next four weeks. If a person was available for work but hadn't been actively seeking work (for example they had a job due to start in the next four weeks) then they would be derived as ‘not in the labour force’. In the Household Labour Force Survey, if a person has a job starting in the next four weeks and was available for work they would be classified as ‘unemployed’.

Read the response rates and final data sources section for more information.

Subject matter

Work and labour force status classifies a person aged 15 years and over by their inclusion in or exclusion from the labour force. For an employed person, it distinguishes between full-time (30 hours or more per week) or part-time employment (fewer than 30 hours per week). A person who was not employed is classified as either 'unemployed' or 'not in the labour force'. A person is considered to be unemployed if, during the week ended 5 March 2023, was without a paid job but was available for work, and had actively sought work in the four weeks ended 5 March 2023. A person is considered to not be in the labour force if they were not employed and they were not actively seeking work, or not available for work. This information applies the census usually resident population aged 15 years and over.

Response rates and final data sources

The response rate from 2023 Census forms was 82.1%. 17.9% of responses were imputed.

Definitions

Census usually resident population count of New Zealand: a count of all people who usually live in and were present in New Zealand on census night. It excludes overseas visitors and New Zealand residents who are temporarily overseas.
Census night population count of New Zealand: a count of all people present in New Zealand on census night. This includes visitors from overseas who are counted on census night but excludes residents who are temporarily overseas on census night.
Dwelling: A dwelling is any building or structure that is used, or intended to be used, for human habitation. There can be more than one dwelling within a building. For example, each apartment in an apartment building is a dwelling.
Household: either one person who usually resides alone, or two or more people who usually reside together and share facilities in a private dwelling. Included are people who were absent on census night but usually live in a particular dwelling and are members of that household, as long as they were reported as being absent on the dwelling form or the household set-up form.
Response 'stated': Members of the subject population (eg. people or dwelling) for which the data was obtained through a census form, administrative sources, or imputed.

Data calculation/treatment

This data has been randomly rounded to protect confidentiality.
Figure.NZ calculated percentages based on the 'Total stated' values for each variable. Individual percentages may not sum to 100% and values for the same data may vary in different tables.

For more information

https://datainfoplus.stats.govt.nz/item/nz.govt.stats/7c1335e0-c2c7-4217-ac48-bfc7a68aea48
https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/2023-census-population-dwelling-and-housing-highlights/

Inclusions

Geographically the census includes the North Island, South Island, Stewart Island, and the Chatham Islands, plus largely uninhabited islands including the Kermadec Islands, Three Kings Islands, Mayor Island, Motiti Island, White Island, Moutohora Island, Bounty Islands, Snares Islands, Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, and Campbell Island.

Data provided by

Stats NZ

Dataset name

Census: Totals by topic for individuals, (NZ total), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses

Webpage:

https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?fs[0]=2023%20Census%2C0%7CTotals%20by%20topic%23CAT_TOTALS_BY_TOPIC%23&pg=0&fc=2023%20Census&bp=true&snb=9&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_TBT_004&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=rc%2Bpc%2BasTotal%2BasMed%2BbpTotal%2BbiTotal%2BegTotal%2BmdTotal%2BlsTotal%2BliTotal%2BgeTotal%2BsbTotal%2BrbTotal%2BsiTotal%2BrsTotal%2BpsTotal%2BcbTotal%2BraTotal%2BcsTotal%2BdiTotal%2BdcTotal%2BdhTotal%2BdrTotal%2BdsTotal%2BdwTotal%2BddTotal%2BhoTotal%2BriTotal%2ByuTotal%2Byumea%2ByaTotal%2Byamea%2BspTotal%2BteTotal%2BhqTotal%2BqiTotal%2BpqTotal%2BpiTotal%2BibTotal%2Bibmed%2BwsTotal%2BseTotal%2BupTotal%2BhwTotal%2Bhwmea%2BmwTotal%2Bmwmea%2BinTotal%2BocTotal%2BtwTotal%2BsoTotal%2BcdTotal%2BjsTotal%2BqaTotal%2BsqTotal%2B1yTotal%2B5yTotal%2BvsTotal%2BctTotal%2BiaTotal%2BazTotal%2BizTotal.2013%2B2018%2B2023&ly[rw]=CEN23_TBT_IND_001&ly[cl]=CEN23_YEAR_001&to[TIME]=false

How to find the data

At the URL provided, download unfiltered data.
Figure.nz calculated the percentages for processing purposes.

Import & extraction details

File as imported: Census: Totals by topic for individuals, (NZ total), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses

From the dataset Census: Totals by topic for individuals, (NZ total), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses, this data was extracted:

Sheet: Census_individuals_totals_2023
Range: I11514:M11534
Provided: 42 data points

This data forms the table Census - Usually resident population by work and labour force status 2013, 2018, 2023.

Dataset originally released on:

October 03, 2024

About this dataset

The New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings is the official count of how many people and dwellings there are in New Zealand. It provides a snapshot of our society at a point in time and helps to tell the story of its social and economic change. The 2023 Census, held on Tuesday 7 March, was the 35th New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings. The first official census was run in 1851, and since 1877 there has been a census every five years, with only four exceptions.

Purpose of collection

Census information is used by government agencies, local authorities, businesses, community organisations, and the public for developing and implementing new policies, research, planning, and decision-making. It helps with making decisions about how to best use public funding, especially in areas of health, education, housing, and transport.
The census is also the primary source of information used for deciding the number of general and Māori electorates, along with data from the corresponding Māori Electoral Option.