Labour and skills

Auckland has a strong labour market. The breadth of its economy and strong education sector has lead to the development of a talented workforce with a variety of skill sets - from Finance to Manufacturing. Favourable economic conditions, and an attractive proposition for migrants have contributed to Auckland's employment growth outstripping the national average over the last decade.

Quick facts

• Auckland is New Zealand's commercial hub - as such nearly half the region's employment is in business and financial services.
• Retail, accommodation and manufacturing are also strong in Auckland.
• Unemployment is currently very low internationally - 3.7%
• Auckland's high quality and growing labour force has wages and salaries 20-30% lower than Australia and 50% lower than the USA.
• New Zealand workers are renowned for their work ethic. NZ and the hours worked by employees are some of the highest in the OECD.
• The Auckland region accounts for almost one third of all output and jobs in the NZ economy.
• Auckland's talented and varied workforce is expected to grow by 30% - or 190,000 people, between 2001 and 2021.
• Diversity is a key characteristic of the Auckland labour market. One in three Aucklander's was not born in New Zealand and a variety of languages are spoken readily.
• Strong employment growth is anticipated in construction, infrastructure, marine and boat building. High demand is also predicted for Tourism/Service and Information Communications Technology (ICT).
• Auckland is home to internationally regarded Tertiary education organisations and current initiatives are supporting stronger connections between education providers and employers to make sure training meets business needs.
• Initiatives like New Kiwis also assist recent migrants to find appropriate employment

Links

• Department of Labour

Talent and Skills

To view this video, please download the Macromedia Flash plugin.