Otago and Southland have comparatively high labour-force participation rates compared with the rest of the country, Department of Labour figures show.
Otago has a participation rate of nearly 71% for the year ended March compared with 69.3% in the previous corresponding period. Southland has a participation rate of 74.3% compared with 72% in the pcp. The New Zealand participation rate is 68.5%.
For Otago, that means that from a working-age population of 185,000 - those aged 15 and over - the region has a labour force of 131,200. Of the 131,200, 67.1% are in employment and 6600 are unemployed to give an unemployment rate of 5.1%. The national rate is 6.6%.
In Southland, there is a working-age population of 78,700 and a labour force of 58,400. Of those, 55,800 are employed and 2600 are unemployed, giving an unemployment rate of 4.4%.
The Department of Labour said, as part of an explanation, that Statistic New Zealand's Household Labour Force Survey provided an estimate of all persons in the working-age population who during a particular week were without a paid job, available for work and had either actively sought work in the previous for weeks, or had a new job to start with four weeks of the survey week.
Those numbers would not align exactly with the numbers receiving an income-tested benefit, such as the unemployment benefit. There were a range of reasons for that. Recipients of income-tested benefits could be employed part-time up to specified income limits, whereas a respondent to the labour force survey must have worked less that an hour during the week being surveyed to count as officially unemployed.
The Labour Department figures showed that 2223 people in Otago were receiving unemployment benefits in the year ended March, a 4.2% share of the 53,479 benefit recipients nationally. Of those receiving the benefit in Otago, 71.3% were male and 28.7% were female. Nearly 15% were Maori (36.5% nationally) and 2.2% were Pacific Islanders (9.2%).
The 18-24 year age group made up 34.3% of the Otago total (28.1%).
In Southland, 1279 people received the unemployment benefit (2.4% share of the national numbers) with 67.4% being male and 32.6% female. Maori made up 24.2% of recipients and Pacific Islanders were just 2%.
The 25-39 year age group was the largest recipients of the unemployment benefit at 31.7% (31.1%).
The Government announced on Monday extra funding to cover changes which will require solo parents to return to work when their youngest child is 5 and bring in tighter rules for unemployed youth, including a requirement for them to be in training and payment cards which can only be used for living.
Council of Trade Unions economist Bill Rosenberg said active labour-market policies that matched up jobs and skills with people out of work and looking for work were a vital part of reducing joblessness. But more focus must be on job creation and the availability of good quality work.
Evidence showed that when there was work available, beneficiary numbers fell.
Glossary
Working age population: 15 years and over
Labour force: number of people who are either in work or are available and actively seeking work.
Employment: number of people in work of one or more hours per week
Unemployment: number of people who are not in work but who are available for and actively seeking work.
Not in the labour force: number of people who are not in work and either not available or not actively seeking work. This includes retired people, students and people at home with children.
