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Survey of Family, Income and Employment

Introduction

Since October 2002, the Survey of Family, Income and Employment (SoFIE) has been collecting information on New Zealander's circumstances and lifestyles, and the factors that influence these aspects of people's lives.

SoFIE is a ‘longitudinal’ survey that runs for eight years, meaning respondents are revisited yearly to build a picture of how their circumstances change during this time.

SoFIE is now in its seventh wave (or interview cycle), and over time, a dynamic picture similar to a video of a person's life is created.

Objectives

The longitudinal objectives of SoFIE are to:

identify the pattern of income level experience over time for individuals and their families
measure significant shifts in income levels for individuals and their families and explore the relationship of these shifts to labour market activity, government transfer receipt and family status
determine patterns over time of labour market activity, participation in education and training, and receipt of government income support
identify transitions between spells of labour market activity, education and training participation and receipt of government income support, and examine the factors that influence transitions from one status to another
determine patterns of saving for retirement and relate these to income dynamics and life cycle stages
determine patterns of change in family status.

Research report 17 (PDF, 889KB) is a feasibility report that presents the final results from the consultation and research that was conducted before SoFIE was undertaken. (Note: SoFIE is referred to as the Longitudinal Survey of Income, Employment and Family Dynamics (LSIEFD) in this report).

Questionnaire flowcharts

PDF versions of the flowcharts used to create the wave four SoFIE electronic questionnaire (EQ).

Latest survey results

The Wave Four Hot Off The Press information release contains analysis of data collected in the first four waves (or interview cycles) of the survey:

Wave one: 1 October 2002 – 30 September 2003

Wave two: 1 October 2003 – 30 September 2004

Wave three: 1 October 2004 – 30 September 2005

Wave four: 1 October 2005 – 30 September 2006.

At each interview, respondents were asked to recall information specific to the 12 months prior to the month of interview. SoFIE data published in this release therefore relates to a four-year period for each respondent that falls somewhere between 1 October 2001 and 30 September 2006.

Wave Four Hot Off The Press information release

Previous results

Wave Three Hot Off The Press information release
Wave Two Hot Off The Press information release
Wave One Reference Report and Tables
Wave One Hot Off The Press information release (provisional)

Statistics NZ's Research Using SoFIE Data

Family Net Worth in New Zealand

The Family Net Worth in New Zealand report presents information on New Zealand families’ assets and liability holdings.

Family Net Worth in New Zealand (PDF, 335KB)

The report has been revised because some of the data in the initial report was not weighted correctly. This meant the figures related to the sample population only, rather than the total population of New Zealand.

For more information about the Family Net Worth in New Zealand report please contact the information centre.

Wealth and Disparities in New Zealand

This paper presents an empirical analysis of net worth, the difference between total assets and total liabilities, and the distribution of this net worth in New Zealand, using data from the second wave of the Survey of Family, Income and Employment (SoFIE), conducted in 2003/04. The paper focuses on the distribution of net worth, and in doing so highlights the unbalanced nature of the current distribution.

Wealth and Disparities in New Zealand (PDF, 284KB)

These downloadable files are in Adobe Acrobat format. If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat Reader you may download the reader to view or print the contents of this file.

Selected Issues in the Measurement of New Zealand's Saving(s) – paper presented to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's Working Group on Saving, November 2006

Frequently asked questions

If you have been chosen for this survey, see information for survey participants, Survey of Family, Income and Employment.