Urban areas tend to have lower labour force participation rates than do rural areas. At the time of the 2001 Census, adults in main urban areas had the highest labour force participation rate for any urban area (66.4 percent, compared with the New Zealand figure of 66.7 percent). In contrast, 75.1 percent of adults in rural areas with high urban influence participated in the labour force. The rate for main urban areas was higher in the North Island (67.0 percent) than the South Island (64.2 percent). Kapiti urban area had the lowest labour force participation rate (56.2 percent), probably because of the high proportion of people aged 65 years and over. Wellington zone had the highest labour force participation rate (74.7 percent).
Main urban areas had the second-highest unemployment rate at the time of the 2001 Census (7.9 percent, compared with a national rate of 7.5 percent). At the time of the 2001 Census, Whangarei urban area had the highest unemployment rate (11.2 percent).
Highest and Lowest Unemployment Rates in Main Urban Areas
Census of Population and Dwellings, 2001
Main urban areas had the most highly qualified population of any profile area in 2001. Less than a quarter of the adult population had no formal qualifications (24.9 percent, compared with 27.6 percent nationally). In contrast with most rural areas, little difference in qualifications emerged between males and females (24.7 percent of males had no formal qualifications, compared with 25.0 percent of females). People living in Wellington zone were the most qualified, with almost 1 in 3 adults having a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Education and employment opportunities attract younger people (aged between 15 and 24 years), accounting for main urban areas having the largest proportion of people in this age group. These areas had the highest percentage of people studying for 20 or more hours a week.
Adults Studying 20 or More Hours per Week
By profile area, Census of Population and Dwellings, 2001
The traditional university centres of Dunedin and Palmerston North had the highest proportions of students.
Highest Ranked Main Urban Areas
By studying status, Census of Population and Dwellings, 2001
Main urban areas followed similar employment patterns to those of the national average, but had slightly higher rates of paid employees, and lower rates of employers, than other areas. At the time of the 2001 Census, approximately 80 percent of employed people worked as paid employees.
Employment Status
Census of Population and Dwellings, 2001
Main urban areas followed quite different employment patterns from those for satellite and independent urban areas. Main urban areas had higher proportions of people employed as legislators, managers, professionals and technicians than did the other urban areas. Professionals were the largest occupational group in main urban areas (192,300 people or 16.5 percent of the employed population), followed by service and sales workers (178,713 people or 15.4 percent).
Occupational structure varied between main urban areas reflecting the distinctive character of each centre. Wellington zone had the highest proportion of professionals, which at 26.2 percent was over twice the proportion in Te Awamutu zone (12 percent). Wellington zone also had the highest proportion of technicians and associate professionals (15.9 percent). Central Auckland zone had the highest proportion of legislators, administrators and managers (18.0 percent). These figures are consistent with Wellington zone being a centre of government and Central Auckland the major business centre of New Zealand. Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt zones had the highest proportions of clerks (18.8 and 18.3 percent, respectively) while Te Awamutu zone had the highest proportion of service and sales workers (20.3 percent). Main urban areas had the lowest proportion of agriculture and fishery workers of any profile area (3.0 percent) but considerable variation emerged. In Wellington zone, less than 1.0 percent of the employed population worked in this occupation, compared with Hastings zone where the proportion of agriculture and fishery workers was 13.7 percent. Wellington zone had the lowest proportion of trades workers (5.3 percent), plant and machine operators and assemblers (2.9 percent), and elementary occupations (3.3 percent).
Occupation (Major group) for Selected Main Urban Areas
Census of Population and Dwellings, 2001
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