Employment rate in New Zealand by highest qualification and sex
2023 Q4, % of the working age population within each level
| Sex | Highest qualification | % of the working age population |
|---|---|---|
| Female | Bachelor degree and level 7 qualification | 80.6% |
| Female | Level 1-3 certificate | 62.9% |
| Female | Level 4-6 certificate and diploma | 69.7% |
| Female | Lower secondary school qualification | 49.6% |
| Female | No qualification | 33.3% |
| Female | Post-graduate, honours degree or higher qualification | 86.6% |
| Female | Post-school qualification not elsewhere included | 62.3% |
| Female | Upper secondary school qualification | 66.4% |
| Male | Bachelor degree and level 7 qualification | 86.4% |
| Male | Level 1-3 certificate | 69.3% |
| Male | Level 4-6 certificate and diploma | 79.9% |
| Male | Lower secondary school qualification | 60.1% |
| Male | No qualification | 50.1% |
| Male | Post-graduate, honours degree or higher qualification | 85.4% |
| Male | Post-school qualification not elsewhere included | 74.4% |
| Male | Upper secondary school qualification | 77.0% |
Definitions
Labour force: members of the working-age population, who during the survey reference week, were classified as 'employed' or 'unemployed’.
Working-age population: the usually resident, non-institutionalised, civilian population of New Zealand aged 15 years and over. This is the target population for this survey.
Employed: people in the working-age population who, during the reference week, did one of the following:
- worked for one hour or more for pay or profit in the context of an employee/employer relationship or self-employment
- worked without pay for one hour or more in work which contributed directly to the operation of a farm, business, or professional practice owned or operated by a relative
- had a job but were not at work due to: own illness or injury, personal or family responsibilities, bad weather or mechanical breakdown, direct involvement in an industrial dispute, or leave or holiday.
Employment rate: the number of employed people expressed as a percentage of the working-age population. The employment rate is closely linked to the working-age population definition.
Labour force: members of the working-age population, who during the survey reference week, were classified as 'employed' or 'unemployed’.
Labour force participation rate: the total labour force expressed as a percentage of the working-age population. Labour force participation is closely linked to how the working-age population is defined.
Not in the labour force: any person in the working-age population who is neither employed nor unemployed. For example, this residual category includes people who:
- are retired
- have personal or family responsibilities such as unpaid housework and childcare
- attend educational institutions
- are permanently unable to work due to physical or mental disabilities,
- were temporarily unavailable for work in the survey reference week
- are not actively seeking work.
Unemployed: all people in the working-age population who, during the reference week, were without a paid job, available for work, and had either actively sought work in the past four weeks ending with the reference week, or had a new job to start within the next four weeks.
Unemployment rate: the number of unemployed people expressed as a percentage of the labour force.
Data calculation/treatment
Due to the unprecedented impact of COVID-19, several seasonally adjusted series were specially treated to maintain a consistent estimate of the seasonal pattern.
For more information
Data provided by
Dataset name
Household Labour Force Survey: Labour Force Status By Highest Qualification by Sex (Quarterly) December 2023
Webpage:
https://infoshare.stats.govt.nz/
How to find the data
At URL provided, select 'Work income and spending > Household Labour Force Survey - HLF > Labour force status by highest qualification by sex (Qrtly-Mar/Jun/Sep/Dec)'. To create this dataset, all variables were selected.
Import & extraction details
File as imported: Household Labour Force Survey: Labour Force Status By Highest Qualification by Sex (Quarterly) December 2023
From the dataset Household Labour Force Survey: Labour Force Status By Highest Qualification by Sex (Quarterly) December 2023, this data was extracted:
- Rows: 5-47
- Columns: 2-480
- Provided: 10,320 data points
This data forms the table Labour Force - Status by highest qualification by sex 2013 Q2–2023 Q4.
Dataset originally released on:
February 07, 2024
Purpose of collection
The primary purpose of the survey is to estimate the number of people employed, unemployed, and not in the labour force (NILF), and from them, the unemployment rate for the New Zealand labour market. The Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) is designed to produce statistics at the family level, and use of the survey for a purpose for which it was not designed is inevitably subject to some limitations.