This working paper examines some of the similarities and differences between the characteristics of workers and employment change in the New Zealand and Australian labour markets.  It draws on statistics from the 2006 census of the two countries as well as quarterly statistics from their respective labour force surveys.  In recent years the employment growth rates of the two countries have fluctuated within a narrower range of each other – but more often have been at different stages of their labour market cycles.  “Government community social and personal services contributed the most to change in numbers of jobs in both countries between September 2001 and March 2008 but more at 35% in Australia compared with only 27% in New Zealand.  By contrast, New Zealand gained 29.5% of net increase in labour demand from “wholesale retail restaurants and hotels” compared with 22.3% in Australia while “property and business services” contributed 28.9% in New Zealand and only 16.5% for Australia.

With some exceptions for specific and isolated skilled and professional groups, New Zealanders resident in Australia are shown to be concentrated proportionately more in unskilled and semiskilled occupations than skilled trades and professional workers.  Given the large numbers of New Zealand born resident in Australia, this does not imply that leakage of those with professionals and skilled trades is not significant, it merely underlies the fact that the balance of the export to Australia of New Zealand born of working age is skewed away from those with professional and trades skills. By 2006, about one in nine of the Australasian resident New Zealand born lived in Australia.

On the basis of employment rates and the proportion of jobs associated with key public services it could be argued that the New Zealand economy is in a better position and more competitive. With the exception of those aged under 25, New Zealand has a higher employment rate than Australia.  These differences are especially large for the 60 to 64 year age group.  However, employment participation rates for those aged 15 to 24 years are consistently lower in New Zealand than Australia. It may be that this margin in employment rates between young New Zealand and Australia residents reflects lower opportunities for labour market entry in New Zealand and is a factor in the high net outflow of young New Zealanders to Australia.

This working paper contributes the Institute for Policy Studies led Foundation for Research, Science and Technology funded Education capital formation, employment, migration, gender, work-life balance and missing men (Short title Missing men) project. The home page for this project is at http://ips.ac.nz/events/completed-activities/Missing%20men/Missing%20men.html.