Longitudinal Immigration Survey: New Zealand - Wave 2, 2008

This release presents results from the first two waves of the Longitudinal Immigration Survey: New Zealand (LisNZ). The LisNZ is a longitudinal survey designed to trace the pathways of migrants and produce a detailed, ongoing information base of their experiences and settlement outcomes. Migrants are interviewed at 6, 18, and 36 months after they have taken up permanent residence in New Zealand. This release highlights the changes between the first two interviews, at 6 months (wave 1) and 18 months (wave 2) after migrants took up permanent residence in New Zealand.

The findings from the LisNZ will be used to inform broad immigration policy, particularly in the areas of immigration selection and settlement policies. In addition, the findings will assist a variety of agencies and community groups in developing services for migrants. More detailed analysis will be carried out and reported by the Department of Labour at a later date.

The survey sample was selected from migrants aged 16 years and over (excluding refugees) who were approved for permanent residence in New Zealand from 1 November 2004 to 31 October 2005. Wave 1 interviews were conducted between 1 May 2005 and 30 April 2007, and wave 2 interviews between 1 May 2006 and 30 April 2008.

The number of interviewed respondents (both onshore and offshore applicants) totalled 7,137 and 6,156 for wave 1 and wave 2, respectively. This release reports on the 6,156 longitudinal respondents (interviewed at both waves). For wave and longitudinal respondent definitions, refer to the technical notes of this release.

Along with a description of the immigration approval categories used in this Hot Off The Press, this release focuses on changes in aspects of migrants’ settlement experiences in New Zealand and on their outcomes in the labour market since their first interview.

The LisNZ is a partnership between Statistics New Zealand and the Department of Labour.

Immigration approval category and type of application

People who wish to migrate permanently to New Zealand can apply for permanent residence through one of several categories. For purposes of this analysis, some of these categories have been combined according to their specific characteristics.

One application can include more than one migrant. The person who makes the application is called the principal applicant and other people included in the same application are called secondary applicants. Secondary applicants might include a partner and/or child(ren). For this release, the skilled principal and skilled secondary migrants are mentioned separately because of their high numbers and unique characteristics. For immigration approval category definitions, refer to the technical notes of this release.

Of all migrants who were interviewed at wave 1 and wave 2, the largest group (57.8 percent) was approved through the different categories for skilled migrants (skilled principal migrants at 34.2 percent and skilled secondary migrants at 23.6 percent).

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Family partner migrants were the second largest group (19.5 percent), followed by family parent migrants (6.3 percent). The remaining migrants at wave 2 (16.3 percent) were approved through other categories: business (6.0 percent), Pacific (4.5 percent), and 'other' (5.8 percent). The 'other' migrant category consists primarily of migrants approved through the Family Sibling and Family Adult Child immigration approval categories, as well as a small number approved through various categories in the International/Humanitarian residence stream.

Changes in aspects of settlement

Satisfaction with life in New Zealand

At each wave, migrants were asked how satisfied or dissatisfied they were with life in New Zealand. Most migrants (91.3 percent) were either satisfied or very satisfied with life in New Zealand at wave 2, compared with 93.3 percent at wave 1.

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The following table shows that most migrants (93.7 percent) who were satisfied or very satisfied at wave 1 remained satisfied or very satisfied at wave 2 and less than 1 percent (0.7 percent) were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied at wave 2. Of those who were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied at wave 1, one out of five (21.4 percent) remained dissatisfied or very dissatisfied at wave 2, while half (50.0 percent) were satisfied or very satisfied at wave 2.

In order to compare movements across all five levels of satisfaction by immigration approval category, refer to table 1 in the tables section of this release.

Perception of safety in New Zealand

At each wave, migrants were asked how safe or unsafe they felt in New Zealand (considering only crime in New Zealand). Most migrants (81.3 percent) felt either safe or very safe in New Zealand at wave 2, compared with 85.9 percent at wave 1. For the 'perception of safety' definition, refer to the technical notes of this release.

The following table shows that most of the migrants (86.9 percent) who felt safe or very safe at wave 1 still felt safe or very safe at wave 2, while 3.3 percent said they felt unsafe or very unsafe at wave 2. Over forty percent (42.3 percent) of the migrants who reported they felt unsafe or very unsafe at wave 1 reported they felt the same way at wave 2, while 30.6 percent reported they felt safe or very safe at wave 2.

In order to compare movements across all five levels of perception of safety by immigration approval category, refer to table 2 in the tables section of this release.

Dwelling ownership in New Zealand

Dwelling ownership status indicates whether migrants owned or partly owned the dwelling they were living in at the time of the interview. For example, a migrant living in a dwelling owned by their siblings or parents would not be considered the owner of that dwelling.

More than four out of 10 (42.9 percent) migrants owned or partly owned the dwelling they lived in at wave 2, compared with 29.9 percent at wave 1.

By immigration approval category, migrants from the business, skilled, and family partner categories were more likely to own a dwelling at wave 2 (52.0 percent, 48.5 percent and 44.6 percent, respectively). Skilled migrants had the largest increase in dwelling ownership, with 17.9 percent purchasing a dwelling between wave 1 and wave 2, followed by family partner migrants at 14.4 percent.

Other results:

• At both waves, migrants from the UK/Ireland were more likely to own a dwelling (52.9 percent at wave 1 and 70.6 percent at wave 2) than other migrants.
• Migrants who had their residence granted offshore had a higher proportion of dwelling ownership (46.3 percent) than onshore migrants (41.6 percent).
• More than half of migrants in the 35- to 44-year age group and in the 45- to 54-year age group owned their dwelling at wave 2 (58.0 percent and 57.9 percent, respectively).
• Migrants residing in Auckland were less likely to own their dwelling (34.3 percent), compared with migrants from the rest of the North Island (50.2 percent) and the South Island (54.2 percent).

Changes in labour market outcomes

Labour market activity

At each wave, migrants were asked about their current involvement in the labour force. The following section presents information on migrants’ labour market activities at both waves, comparing two points in time only. Note for example, that those who reported being employed at both waves may have looked for work or done other activities not related to the labour market between the two waves (eg studying or taking care of dependants). For labour market activity definitions, refer to the technical notes of this release.

Three-quarters (74.3 percent) of migrants were employed at wave 2, compared with 71.2 percent at wave 1. At wave 2, the seeking-work rate was 2.7 percent, compared with 4.2 percent at wave 1.

Of all migrants, 8.4 percent moved from not being employed at wave 1 to being employed at wave 2. On the other hand, 5.3 percent moved from being employed at wave 1 to not being employed at wave 2.

By immigration approval category, skilled secondary migrants showed the largest movement into employment, with 16.0 percent of them moving from not being employed at wave 1 to being employed at wave 2.

Overall, 84.2 percent of migrants interviewed at both waves reported the same type of labour market activity at each wave (65.9 percent being employed, 0.3 percent looking for work, and 18.0 percent doing other activities).

More than nine out of 10 (92.6 percent) migrants employed at wave 1 were still employed at wave 2. Of those who were out of the labour force at wave 1, 25.8 percent were employed at wave 2, 4.2 percent were looking for work, and 70.2 percent were still out of the labour force. Of those looking for work at wave 1, 58.6 percent were employed at wave 2, 32.4 percent were out of the labour force, and 9.0 percent were still looking for work.

Employment spells between wave 1 and wave 2

As well as information on current employment status, the LisNZ collects information about movements into and out of employment since the last interview. This data indicates that 80.9 percent of all migrants had at least one employment spell between wave 1 and wave 2 (compared with 74.3 percent who were employed at wave 2). Of these, 64.4 percent had only one employment spell between waves; 30.9 percent had two employment spells; and the remaining 4.7 percent had more than two employment spells.

Skill level of main job

This section provides information on skill level changes for migrants employed at both waves. The analysis uses Immigration New Zealand's (INZ) definition of skilled employment, which is primarily based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations 2006 (ANZSCO 06). The ANZSCO 06 defines five skill levels based on formal education and training, previous experience, and on-the-job training. For skill level definitions, refer to the technical notes of this release.

Migrants applying for residence through the Skilled Migrant Category are awarded points if they have employment (or a job offer) in an occupation listed in the INZ policy manual (primarily occupations classified as skill levels 1, 2, or 3 of ANZSCO 06). Occupations classified as level 4 or 5 are lower skilled than occupations classified as level 1, 2, or 3.

More than two-thirds (68.4 percent) of employed migrants worked in a skilled job at wave 2. Of these, 8.6 percent moved from a lower skilled job at wave 1 to a higher skilled job at wave 2.

At wave 2, 86.6 percent of employed skilled principal migrants and 74.7 percent of employed business migrants worked in a skilled job. The majority (82.8 percent) of employed skilled principal migrants worked in a skilled job at both waves.

Over half of employed family partner (54.9 percent) and skilled secondary (53.5 percent) migrants worked in a skilled job at wave 2. One out of 10 (9.5 percent) employed skilled secondary migrants and 7.8 percent of employed family partner migrants moved from a lower skilled job at wave 1 to a higher skilled job at wave 2.

Employed Pacific category migrants were the least likely to work in a skilled job (26.0 percent at wave 2), while 71.2 percent worked in a skill level 4 or 5 job at both waves.

Median hourly wages

Wage and salary earners were asked about their gross earnings and the number of hours they usually worked each week. This section provides information about the median hourly earnings of migrants who reported their earnings and hours worked at both waves.

The overall median hourly wage was $20.00 at wave 2, compared with $18.00 at wave 1. At wave 2, median hourly earnings ranged from $13.00 for Pacific category migrants to $23.97 for skilled principal migrants. Skilled secondary and family partner migrants had median hourly earnings of $17.00 and $16.78, respectively, at wave 2. The median hourly wage increased by more than 10.0 percent for each immigration approval category between wave 1 and wave 2.

Migrants who rated their English language skills as moderate to poor (11.3 percent of all migrants at wave 2) had median hourly earnings of $12.00 at wave 2, compared with $22.06 for migrants who rated English as a language they spoke best.

Satisfaction with main job

At waves 1 and 2, four out of five employed migrants were satisfied or very satisfied with their main job (80.9 percent at wave 1 and 81.8 percent at wave 2). Seven out of 10 (70.0 percent) employed migrants were satisfied or very satisfied with their main job at both waves.

Of those who were satisfied or very satisfied at wave 1, 13.5 percent were 'neither satisfied nor dissatisfied', 'dissatisfied', or 'very dissatisfied' at wave 2. Of those who were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied at wave 1, over half (54.0 percent) were satisfied or very satisfied at wave 2.

In order to compare movements across all five levels of satisfaction with main job by immigration approval category, refer to table 7 in the tables section of this release.

For technical information contact:
Alan Bailey or Cécile Thoreau
Wellington 04 931 4600
Email: LisNZ@stats.govt.nz 

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Future results will be published as they become available.