Monthly Labour Market Fact Sheet - May 2021 - MBIE
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Monthly Labour Market Fact Sheet — May 2021
This monthly fact sheet summarises highlights from the latest labour market informa on, including changes since the start of the
COVID-19 Alert Levels. It focusses on the most recent changes and complements MBIE’s Labour Market Sta s cs Snapshot1 , which is
produced every quarter and uses tradi onal labour market official sta s cs. For more detail about sectors and regions, see fact sheets
available at MBIE’s COVID-19 economic data2 .
The Monthly Labour Market Fact Sheet will next be updated on 17 June 2021.
Overview
Headline sta s cs
Measures Mar-20 Jun-20 Sep-20 Dec-20 Mar-21
Employment 2,749,500 2,725,800 2,707,000 2,747,800 2,758,000
— Paid Employee or Employer 2,395,300 2,351,900 2,343,000 2,380,000 2,372,400
— Self-employed 330,300 346,300 336,900 343,900 355,000
Employment Rate 67.7% 67.1% 66.5% 66.8% 67.1%
Par cipa on Rate 70.7% 69.9% 70.2% 70.2% 70.4%
Underu lisa on 310,000 355,000 391,000 351,000 366,000
— Unemployment 122,000 115,000 151,000 140,000 135,000
— Underemployment 93,000 127,000 134,000 116,000 124,000
— Poten al Labour Force 95,000 114,000 106,000 95,000 107,000
Underu lisa on Rate 10.5% 12.0% 13.1% 11.8% 12.2%
Unemployment Rate 4.3% 4.0% 5.2% 4.9% 4.7%
Not in the Labour Force 1,188,000 1,226,000 1,220,000 1,218,000 1,215,000
Youth Not in Employment, Educa on or Training (NEET) 93,000 83,000 82,000 81,000 85,000
NEET Rate 14.1% 12.6% 12.5% 12.4% 13.1%
Average Weekly Hours Paid (per FTE) 38.57 38.32 38.12 38.18 38.30
All measures are from the Household Labour Force Survey except for average hours worked, which is from the Quarterly Employment
Survey. Labour Market Sta s cs, Stats NZ (Data to March 2021, next release on 04/08/2021)
The recent story
While the effects of economic restric ons related to COVID-19 con nue to be felt, New Zealand’s labour market has held up be er
than expected, although it remains weaker than pre-COVID-19 levels. Headline labour market measures generally improved in the
March 2021 quarter, with the unemployment rate falling to 4.7 per cent and the par cipa on rate increasing slightly to 70.4 per cent as
employment grew by 15,000 (seasonally adjusted) people over the quarter. However the gains have been uneven, with border closures
con nuing to have mixed effects for industries and regions.
During April 2020, the number of people receiving Jobseeker Support Work-Ready benefits increased markedly and filled jobs fell by
a record 1.6 per cent. From May onwards the number of filled jobs rebounded and monthly changes are now within usual historical
pa erns, although annual growth remains below that of recent years. November 2020 was the first me since the Global Financial
Crisis that the annual change in filled job numbers has been nega ve.
It is likely that the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy supported employment levels by allowing businesses to keep paying their staff during the
Alert Level restric ons. Use of the original Wage Subsidy peaked in June 2020 and covered 1.65 million unique jobs; use of the Wage
Subsidy Extension peaked in July 2020 and covered 587,000 unique jobs; and use of the Resurgence Wage Subsidy peaked in September
2020 and covered 291,000 unique jobs. As of the start of May 2021, the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy March 2021 was covering 170,000
unique jobs.
The number of main benefit recipients has fallen slightly in the last two months (in line with historical pa erns), and the COVID-19
Income Relief Payment has wrapped up, with the last payments made in the week ending 5 February 2021. The number of adver sed
job vacancies has grown very strongly (up 340 per cent) on an annual basis, recovering from a large drop in April to May 2020.
1 https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/employment-and-skills/labour-market-reports-data-and-analysis/labour-market-statistics-snapshot/
2 https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/economic-development/covid-19-data-resources/covid-19-economic-data/
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Generated on 2021-05-18Filled jobs
Stats NZ’s Monthly Employment Indicators (MEIs) count filled jobs, using employer payroll filing tax data. These sta s cs are a useful
indicator to supplement the official Labour Market Sta s cs, although they do not count the self-employed, they do not necessarily
represent full- me or permanent jobs, and recent results can be subject to fluctua ons due to different employers’ payroll schedules.
Annual percentage change in the number of filled jobs
4%
Annual change
2%
0%
−2%
−4%
2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020
Year
Monthly Employment Indicator - Filled Job Series, Stats NZ (Data to March 2021, next release on 28/05/2021)
Monthly percentage change in the number of filled jobs, seasonally adjusted
Monthly change
1%
0%
−1%
2018 2019 2020 2021
Year
Monthly Employment Indicator - Filled Job Series, Stats NZ (Data to March 2021, next release on 28/05/2021)
Filled jobs by age group
65 and over
60 to 64
55 to 59
50 to 54
Age Group
45 to 49
40 to 44
35 to 39
30 to 34
25 to 29
20 to 24
15 to 19
−2% 0% 2% 4% 0 100,000 200,000
Annual change Number of filled jobs
Monthly Employment Indicator - Filled Job Series, Stats NZ (Data to March 2021, next release on 28/05/2021)
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Generated on 2021-05-18Filled jobs by industry
Electricity, gas, water & waste services
Construction
Public administration & safety
Financial & insurance services
Health care & social assistance
Other services
Professional, scientific & technical services
Education & training
Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Retail trade
Manufacturing
Information media & telecommunications
Rental, hiring & real estate services
Wholesale trade
Accommodation & food services
Arts & recreation services
Administrative & support services
Mining
Transport, postal & warehousing
−5% 0% 5% 0 100,000 200,000
Annual change Number of filled jobs
Monthly Employment Indicator - Filled Job Series, Stats NZ (Data to March 2021, next release on 28/05/2021)
Filled jobs by region
Gisborne
Bay of Plenty
Waikato
Manawatū-Whanganui
Wellington
Northland
Taranaki
Hawke's Bay
West Coast
Tasman
Nelson
Canterbury
Auckland
Southland
Marlborough
Otago
-2% -1% 0% 1% 2% 0 200,000 400,000 600,000
Annual change Number of filled jobs
Monthly Employment Indicator - Filled Job Series, Stats NZ (Data to March 2021, next release on 28/05/2021)
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Generated on 2021-05-18Benefit Recipients
Benefits are primarily a measure of how many people are receiving income support rather than a measure of unemployment, but since
2008 the number of Jobseeker Support recipients has mostly tracked in line with the number of unemployed individuals. Measuring
all working-age main benefits covers addi onal circumstances in which someone could need extra income and is a be er proxy for the
underu lisa on rate, which is a more useful measure of “slack” in the labour market than unemployment alone.
Number of main benefit recipients
400,000
Number of people
300,000
Year
200,000
2019
100,000 2020
0 2021
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Month
Working-age main benefits, MSD (Data to 07/05/2021, released every Friday)
Weekly new recipients and cancellations of Jobseeker Support
Number of people
Legend
7,500
Cancellations
5,000 New recipients
2,500
0
February March April May June July August September
October NovemberDecemberJanuary FebruaryMarch April May
Month
Working-age main benefits, MSD (Data to 07/05/2021, released every Friday)
Jobseeker benefit recipients by region
Northland
Gisborne
Bay of Plenty
West Coast
Waikato
Manawatū-Whanganui
Taranaki
Hawke's Bay
Auckland
Wellington
Nelson
Canterbury
Tasman
Southland
Marlborough
Otago
0% 2.5% 5% 7.5% 10% -0.5% -0.25% 0% 0.25% 0.5% 0 20,000 40,000 60,000
Percentage of the population Annual percentage point change Number of recipients
(aged 18 to 64)
Working-age main benefits, MSD (Data to 07/05/2021, released every Friday)
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Generated on 2021-05-18Wage Subsidy
The COVID-19 Wage Subsidy and Leave Payment Scheme was introduced to assist businesses in paying their staff, allowing businesses
to claim $585.80 per week per full- me employee ($350 per part- me employee) for up to 12 weeks. The Wage Subsidy Extension
scheme was introduced on 10 June 2020, covering jobs for up to 8 weeks, and a Resurgence Wage Subsidy payment was available for
the last two weeks in August when Auckland was placed at Alert Level 3 and the rest of the country moved back into Alert Level 2.
Data for the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy March 2021 is now available. This payment was introduced a er the Alert Level changes on 28
February 2021, when Auckland was placed at Alert Level 3 and the rest of the country moved back into Alert Level 2.
Number of jobs supported by wage subsidy schemes
Wage subsidy
1,600,000 schemes
Original
Extension
1,200,000 Resurgence
Jobs supported
March 2021
800,000
400,000
0
June September December March
Income Support and Wage Subsidy Weekly Update, MSD (Data to 07/05/2021, released every Friday)
Proportion of jobs supported by wage subsidy schemes
Auckland
Gender Male Female
Canterbury
Otago
Tasman
60 and over
Nelson
Northland
West Coast 50 to 59
Region
Waikato
Age group
Bay of Plenty
Southland 40 to 49
Marlborough
Taranaki
30 to 39
Hawke's Bay
Manawatū-Whanganui
Wellington 16 to 29
Gisborne
0% 20% 40% 60% 0% 20% 40% 60%
Percentage of jobs supported Percentage of jobs supported
COVID-19 evidence,3 MSD (Data as at 24/07/20)
3 https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/covid-19/covid-19-evidence.html
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Generated on 2021-05-18Job Vacancies
The number of jobs adver sed online on major job boards can be used as a proxy for job vacancies, a key indicator of both labour
demand and economic change. However, because of different hiring prac ces and changes in the rate of worker churn within industries,
the rela onship between online job adver sements and labour demand is complex.
The large annual growth in jobs adver sed in April 2021 is due to this figure being compared to April 2020, when job adver sing was
strongly affected by the Alert Level 4 lockdown.
Annual change in online job advertising
300%
Annual change
200%
100%
0%
2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020
Year
Jobs Online, MBIE (Data to April 2021, next release 14/06/2021)
Annual change in online job advertising by occupation, latest three months
February 2021 March 2021 April 2021
Sales
Clerical & administration
Trades & technicians
Managers
Machinery drivers
Labourers
Community & personal services
Professionals
0% 200% 400% 600% 0% 200% 400% 600% 0% 200% 400% 600%
Annual change
Jobs Online, MBIE (Data to April 2021, next release 14/06/2021)
Annual change in online job advertising by region, latest three months
February 2021 March 2021 April 2021
South Island − Other
Canterbury
Auckland
North Island − Other
Wellington
0% 100% 200% 300% 0% 100% 200% 300% 0% 100% 200% 300%
Annual change
Jobs Online, MBIE (Data to April 2021, next release 14/06/2021)
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Generated on 2021-05-18Data sources
Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) | Stats Income Support and Wage Subsidy Weekly
NZ Update | Ministry of Social Development
The HLFS is a na onwide, quarterly survey of households run by Stats NZ. It is the (MSD)
official measure of employment and unemployment in New Zealand. Data from
the HLFS is used as an indicator of the overall health of the economy, par cularly The Income Support and Wage Subsidy Weekly Update provides an overview of
the unemployment rate. HLFS data is also used to compare labour force variables income support, including COVID-19 Income Relief Payment data. MSD’s COVID-
across demographic characteris cs. 19 repor ng is available at: https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/
publications-resources/statistics/covid-19/index.html
Monthly Employment Indicator (MEI) | Stats
Jobs Online | Ministry of Business, Innova-
NZ
on and Employment (MBIE)
The MEI series from Stats NZ provides an early indica on of changes in the labour
market. These indicators use a combina on of data from two different Inland Rev- Jobs Online is a regular data series published quarterly by MBIE that mea-
enue sources: the Employer Monthly Schedule (EMS) and payday filing. This data sures changes in online job adver sements from four internet job boards —
is used to produce the filled jobs and gross earnings indicator series, published four Seek, Trade Me Jobs, Educa on Gaze e and Kiwi Health Jobs. A monthly
to five weeks a er the end of the reference month. series is available at https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/
employment-and-skills/labour-market-reports-data-and-analysis/jobs-online/
Monthly Benefits Update | Ministry of Social #jobs-online-monthly-data-release
Development (MSD)
The Monthly Benefits Update from MSD provides an overview of benefit and sup-
plementary assistance data. The report presents monthly benefit receipt numbers,
and the accompanying data file provides addi onal informa on and breakdowns.
Previous edi ons
The Monthly Labour Market Fact Sheet brings together the latest available data and surveys. July’s edi on4 included findings from the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19
Health and Wellbeing Survey, the Ministry of Social Development’s Wage Subsidy Survey and Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development’s (ATEED) COVID-19
Business Survey. August’s edi on5 included findings from Victoria University’s Life in Lockdown survey.
Contact us
For further informa on on the data contained in this fact sheet, please email us: LabourMarketInsights@mbie.govt.nz.
4 https://www.mbie.govt.nz/dmsdocument/11556-monthly-labour-market-fact-sheet-july-2020
5 https://www.mbie.govt.nz/dmsdocument/11637-monthly-labour-market-fact-sheet-august-2020
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