scholarly journals Workforce and Employment Estimates: New Zealand 1921-1939

Author(s):  
Keith Rankin

New Zealand does not have a consistent set of employment and unemployment data for the interwar years. The best source is the Population Census which was held three times, but not during the Great Depression. There is also a consistent set of official factory statistics which commences in 1921, and can be separated into males and females, adults and minors. This paper uses an estimate for the 1933 workforce that is equivalent to the census data points of 1921, 1926 and 1936. It also uses officially sourced employment estimates for 1939. From these data points ,from the factory data, and from Post Office Savings Bank balances, a set of equations are constructed from which annual  employment data are drawn. Workforce estimates for periods of high unemployment are interpolated in accordance with the subsequent recoveries. The 1920s was a period of insecurity and low female participation. The 1930s saw a transformation from mass unemployment to full employment in just six years, despite a rise in labour force participation.

Author(s):  
Colleen Souness ◽  
Philip S. Morrison

A key priority of the present government is to improve women’s participation in the workforce, That education, age and reproduction decisions all play an important role in female labour force participation is well documented, what is less well understood is the role played by the geographic context in which these decisions are made – the relationship between participation and place. The aim of this paper is to explore the way in which different types of settlement are associated with different levels of female participation in the labour force. Our findings reveal that place of residence does affect the propensity of women to engage in wage labour – over and above the standard human capital and demographic determinants. The findings are based on analyses of the 1996 census data of over one million New Zealand women of working age. We use the Statistics New Zealand reclassification of urban and rural locations to define settlement types. A unique feature of this study is the explicit consideration of the relationship between partnership, participation and place. We find that not only does the presence of a (male) partner have a strong and statistically significant influence on female participation by that its effect is also very sensitive in settlement type. Particularly interesting is the different effect partners have on female participation in small versus large urban settings.


Author(s):  
Richard Bururu

This paper provides a preliminary analysis of self-employment in New Zealand. Using census data from Supennap3 and HLFS data, we find that self-employment is growing with an increased proportion of the labour force being self-employed now than in 1986. This growth is however quite modest. Pull factors attracting people to self-employment appear to be stronger than push factors whereby people enter self-employment because of lack of alternative opportunities. However, results are not definitive. A possible causal relationship between self-employment and unemployment is explored using a time-series regression model. Results suggest a negative and significant relationship between self-employment and lagged unemployment rate. We also observe a weak but positive influence of the ECA, tax and intellectual property rights reforms on self-employment. There are regional differences in regard to factors that could be influencing individuals' decisions to enter into self-employment. While pull factors may explain entry into self-employment for Tasman, Marlborough, Southland and West Coast regions, unemployment appears to be a strong factor for Northland, Taranaki, Waikato, and the Bay of Plenty. The analysis also looks at self-employment by occupation, qualifications, income, industry, age, gender and ethnicity. The paper concludes by mentioning policy implications and suggesting future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lokender Prashad ◽  
Mili Dutta ◽  
Bishnu Mohan Dash

Purpose This study on spatial analysis of child labour in India is a macro level analysis on child labour using the census data, 2011 of Government of India. The population census which is conducted once in 10 years only provides district level data on work-force distribution. The study has spatial analysis of child labour in the age group of 5–14 years in India. To assess the magnitude of the children in the labour force, district level data of Census 2011 has been used in the study. The study has made an attempt to identify the districts where there is high level of children in the labour force. This paper aims to estimate the magnitude and trends of children’s workforce participation using the census data as it is the only data base, which is available at the district level since 1961 onwards. The study has made an attempt to identify the clustering of child labour across districts in India and how child labour is clustered by different background characteristics. Design/methodology/approach The study has used ArcGIS software package, GeoDa software and local indicator of spatial association test. Findings The findings of study reveal that the proportion of rural, total fertility rate (TFR) and poverty headcount ratio is positively associated, whereas female literacy and the pupil-teacher ratio are negatively associated with child labour. It suggests that in the hot-spot areas and areas where there is a high prevalence of child labour, there is need to increase the teacher's number at the school level to improve the teacher-pupil ratio and also suggested to promote the female education, promote family planning practices to reduce TFR in those areas for reducing the incidences of child labour. Research limitations/implications The study also recommends that the incidences of child labour can be controlled by a comprehensive holistic action plan with the active participation of social workers. Practical implications The promulgation of effective legislation, active involvement of judiciary and police, political will, effective poverty alleviation and income generation programmes, sensitisation of parents, corporates and media can play effective role in mitigating the incidences of child labour in India. To achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in 2015 to eradicate child labour in all its forms by 2025. Social implications The study aims to achieve the SDGs adopted by world leaders in 2015 to eradicate child labour in all its forms by 2025. Originality/value The study is purely original and there are no such studies in Indian context by using the latest software.


2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (11) ◽  
pp. 1489-1505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abena Yeboah Abraham ◽  
Fidelia Nana Akom Ohemeng ◽  
Williams Ohemeng

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine female labour force participation (FLFP) and their employment choice between the formal and informal sectors after several institutional and social reforms such as Millennium Development Goal 3 aimed at promoting gender equality and empowerment of women by 2015, using data from Ghana’s 2010 Population and Housing Census. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, logit regression and multinomial logit techniques were employed. Findings The results show that FLFP has declined marginally from the 2005 figures; education remains the important factor in determining women’s participation in the formal sector. Strikingly 91 per cent of the FLFP is engaged in the informal sector of the Ghanaian economy, a sector with a very low contribution per head. Practical implications Interventions such as encouraging female education and retraining of self-employed females to improve upon their efficiency ought to be pursued vigorously; whiles developing rural areas for females to get equal labour opportunities and many others aimed at enhancing the efficiency and by inference earning per head of the informal sector is highly recommended. Originality/value The literature on the FLFP is thin in Ghana. The current study uses a census data unlike the previous studies and as such employed a huge sample size that reflects the reality in Ghana. The study contributed immensely to policy having established that 91 per cent of the female labour force is engaged in the informal sectors of the economy, and therefore any intervention targeting at reducing poverty and meeting the MDG 3 should be targeted at the informal sector of the Ghanaian economy.


Author(s):  
David Paterson ◽  
Simon Brown

This paper examines labour force participation trends in New Zealand, how we compare to the rest of the OECD and how participation and economic growth might be affected in the future by population ageing. Participation has risen significantly over the past 20 years despite an increase in the average age of the working­age population. We have looked at how participation has changed by age, gender and ethnicity. By contrast, average hours worked has declined over the past 20 years and we consider the reasons for that. Population ageing means the recent growth seen in labour force participation is likely to come to an end, with the participation rate projected to decline over the medium term. Falling participation will have a dampening effect on economic growth. We have investigated the impact of declining participation on gross domestic product using official labour force projections and identified a range of scenarios for what participation might look like in the year 2029. In each scenario, we discuss the impact on economic growth. Most other OECD countries are in a similar situation to us with respect to population ageing. We have looked at the latest Australian projections for economic growth in the long term and the increased growth in New Zealand’s productivity that would be necessary to begin to close the gap on Australia.


1973 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-406
Author(s):  
M. Afzal Beg

The purpose of this paper is to throw some light on the labour force in Pakistan with respect to its participation in agriculture and non-agricultural activity over the period 1961 through 1971; in addition some comparison is provided between the activity rates of 1951 and 1961. Finally some tentative explanations of the behaviour of labour force participation rates over the last decade are offered. The data on which this study is based has been drawn from the 1951 and 1961 Censuses of Pakistan and from the Labour Force Survey of the Statistical Division, which is carried out as a regular sample enquiry on national basis since 1963. The data from these surveys has been used to provide esti¬mates of economic activity for each year up to 1971. The population census of 1972 did not collect information on labour force activity


1980 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Hakim

ABSTRACTThe population census provides a somewhat neglected and under-utilized source of statistical information. Data on the labour force from household censuses and surveys are of particular interest for policy research on the social aspects of employment. The characteristics of these data sources are outlined, and their potential for secondary analysis is explored with particular reference to census statistics. The census provides a useful source for studies of the changing definitions of ‘work’, ‘occupation’ and ‘employment’; the labour force participation profiles of individuals and families; the unemployed (both registered and unregistered); occupational segregation on the basis of sex or other factors; the separation of home and work-place and the characteristics of homeworkers; labour force minorities such as the self-employed and family workers; the labour force characteristics of ethnic minorities; qualified manpower; and the determinants of earnings. Recent developments have improved access to household census and survey data for researchers outside the government.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document