Statistics NZ Home > Census > 2001 Census Data > 2001 Census: Pacific profiles > Pacific Profiles - Cook Island Maori

Pacific Profiles - Cook Island Maori

Cook Island Maori - Labour Force

The labour force consists of adults (aged 15 years and over) employed or unemployed and actively seeking employment.

Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Cook Island Maori adults were participating in the labour force at the time of the 2001 Census – slightly higher than in 1996 (62 percent). Labour force participation rates among the Pacific (65 percent) and New Zealand populations (67 percent) were similar to those of the Cook Island Maori population.
The New Zealand-born Cook Island Maori population had a higher rate of labour force participation (69 percent) than the overseas-born Cook Island Maori population (60 percent) in 2001.
Cook Island Maori men were more likely to participate in the labour force than Cook Island Maori women in 2001 (71 percent and 59 percent respectively) – a pattern repeated across all five-year age groups.
Labour force participation among the Cook Island Maori population is lower than among the New Zealand population across all age groups, as figure 6.1 shows.

The employment rate is the proportion of the adult population (aged 15 years and over) who are employed in either full-time or part-time paid work.

At the time of the 2001 Census, 53 percent of the Cook Island Maori adult population were employed – continuing the upward trend from 51 percent in 1996 and 42 percent in 1991. In 2001, a similar proportion of the Pacific population was employed (55 percent), while the employment rate for the New Zealand population was higher at 62 percent.
The employment rate for the Cook Island Maori population rose from 78 percent of the New Zealand employment rate in 1991 to 85 percent in 2001, as can be seen in figure 6.2.
New Zealand-born Cook Island Maori (55 percent) had a higher employment rate than those born overseas (51 percent) in 2001.
Cook Island Maori men (60 percent) had a higher employment rate than Cook Island Maori women (47 percent) in 2001 – a consistent pattern across all age groups.
In 2001, employment rates among Cook Island Maori people were highest among those aged 40–44 years (70 percent) and 45–49 years (69 percent).

The unemployment rate is the proportion of the labour force who are unemployed, available for work and actively seeking employment.

A total of 3,500 Cook Island Maori adults, or 18 percent of the Cook Island Maori labour force, were unemployed at the time of the 2001 Census. The unemployment rate for the Pacific population was 16 percent – more than double that for the New Zealand population in 2001 (7 percent).
There was little change in the Cook Island Maori unemployment rate between the 1996 and 2001 Censuses (down one percentage point). However, unemployment among the Cook Island Maori population remains lower than at the beginning of the decade (22 percent in 1991).
New Zealand-born Cook Island Maori were more likely to be unemployed (21 percent) than their overseas-born counterparts (15 percent) in 2001 – with the younger age profile of the New Zealand-born Cook Island Maori population a possible contributing factor.
Cook Island Maori women had a higher rate of unemployment (20 percent) than Cook Island Maori men (16 percent) in 2001.
Unemployment rates among the Cook Island Maori population were higher than for the New Zealand population across all age groups, as figure 6.3 illustrates.

In 2001, the most common occupations for employed Cook Island Maori adults were plant and machine operators and assemblers (19 percent), service and sales workers (17 percent), clerks (16 percent) and elementary occupations (15 percent).
In the decade to 2001, Cook Island Maori people were increasingly employed in 'white collar' occupations. The proportion of Cook Island Maori adults employed as technicians and associate professionals increased by 3 percentage points between 1991 and 2001 to 9 percent, while those employed as service and sales workers rose 4 percentage points to 17 percent in 2001. Conversely, the proportion of Cook Island Maori adults employed as trades workers, and plant and machine operators and assemblers, and in elementary occupations, declined between 1991 and 2001, as figure 6.4 illustrates.
New Zealand-born Cook Island Maori were more likely than their overseas-born counterparts to be employed in 'white collar' occupations such as legislators, administrators and managers (7 percent and 4 percent respectively), technicians and associate professionals (10 percent and 6 percent) and service and sales workers (19 percent and 14 percent).

cook-island-maori-figure-66

Cook Island Maori born overseas were more likely than their New Zealand-born counterparts to be employed as plant and machine operators and assemblers (26 percent and 15 percent respectively) and in elementary occupations (19 percent and 12 percent).
There were considerable occupational differences between the sexes, as shown in figure 6.5. In 2001, Cook Island Maori women were more likely than Cook Island Maori men to be employed in 'white collar' occupations – such as professionals, technicians and associate professionals, service and sales workers and clerks. Conversely, Cook Island Maori men were more likely to be employed as trades workers and as plant and machine operators and assemblers. (See figure 6.5.)
As increasing numbers of the Cook Island Maori population gain formal qualifications, young Cook Island Maori people are becoming less likely to be employed in ‘blue collar’ jobs. In 2001, Cook Island Maori aged 25–34 years were more likely than those aged 35–44 years to be employed as clerical workers and less likely to be employed as plant and machine operators and assemblers.

Just over a quarter (26 percent) of employed Cook Island Maori adults worked in the manufacturing industry in 2001. As figure 6.6 shows, retail trade, and property and business services were the next most common industries – each employing 10 percent and 9 percent respectively of Cook Island Maori adults.
Cook Island Maori born overseas are more likely than their New Zealand-born counterparts to work in manufacturing (34 percent and 20 percent respectively).
New Zealand-born Cook Island Maori were more likely than those born overseas to work in retail trade (12 percent and 7 percent respectively), but similar proportions worked in property and business services (10 percent and 9 percent respectively).

Two percent of employed Cook Island Maori adults were employers in 2001, while 4 percent were self-employed without employees – the same proportions as those for the employed Pacific population in 2001. By comparison, employers and the self-employed made up 8 percent and 13 percent respectively of the employed New Zealand population.