Employment is an important measure of economic activity. The trends in the number of people employed and in hourly earnings provide a weathervane on New Zealand's economic situation. The source for this economic indicator is the Quarterly Employment Survey. The purpose of the Quarterly Employment Survey is to provide a produce quarterly estimates for men and women of the:
It includes all economically significant businesses in surveyed industries that employ staff. The population size for this survey is approximately 120,000 and the sample for this survey is approximately 18,000. Sample is selected using a process called stratified-random sampling.
Businesses that employ staff can be selected for the Quarterly Employment Survey. The industries included in the survey are:
Industries not included in the survey are:
Of the approximately 120,000 employing business locations included in the survey population, 18,000 business locations are surveyed each quarter to obtain the following information for both men and women by:
Information for the public (government) and private (business and not for profit) sectors is collected separately. Click here for further information on the Quarterly Employment Survey.
This information, collected every quarter, is compared to the same type of information collected in previous quarters. The comparative change or movement is measured in average hourly earnings, average weekly earnings, average weekly paid hours, and the number of filled jobs.
Quarterly Employment Survey information is used in the production of the quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and in productivity statistics and is used for labour market and economic analysis. The quarterly average wage for the December quarter each year is used to set the ceiling for national superannuation payments. Industry organisations also use the information to monitor changes in different industries. Businesses and researchers use Quarterly Employment Survey data to track changes in employment patterns.
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Accountant, payroll administrator, business owner, etc.
This survey takes place quarterly.
Follow this link for the Quarterly Employment Survey questionnaire and other questionnaires.
Businesses are only selected for the Quarterly Employment Survey if, based on our records, they employ staff. If you are no longer employing staff or are unsure why your business has been selected for the Quarterly Employment Survey, please phone our Survey Help Desk toll free on 0800 809 464 or email us at surveys@stats.govt.nz so that we can update the information about your business.
We cannot provide you with a definite timeframe as to how long your business will be included in the survey sample because reselection of the sample for any particular industry varies according to how much change occurs within that industry.
Under the Statistics Act 1975 you must provide the information requested by Statistics NZ. It is also important that information from all of the businesses surveyed is accurately represented in the statistical results.
Providing information to Statistics New Zealand is a statutory obligation. There is no provision in the Statistics Act 1975 for people to be paid for providing information. Where possible, we request information in a way that is easily obtainable from business records. We also recognise that completing survey questionnaires can be time consuming. For some surveys, we provide survey respondents with information that can be useful for your business planning purposes. Also, survey results are available free of charge on the Stastics New Zealand website.
The Statistics Act 1975 states that:
Consequently, Statistics New Zealand does not share your information with other government agencies. Other government agencies can provide their information to Statistics New Zealand, but only for statistical purposes. Statistics New Zealand sometimes undertakes a statistical survey jointly with another government department or government agency. In all cases, respondents are informed that it is a joint collection. You may object to information being passed to the other party by writing to Statistics New Zealand. Where this right is exercised, Statistics New Zealand withholds the information from the other party.
Businesses selected for any Statistics New Zealand survey must provide the information requested. This is a legal requirement under the Statistics Act 1975.
We appreciate that it can be difficult and time consuming to complete survey forms. If you would prefer to provide information by fax or by email, please phone our Survey Help Desk on 0800 809 464 to discuss these options.
Free standard results each quarter for information on the Quarterly Employment Survey and key results of other Statistics New Zealand surveys.
We can provide information that could help your business. For instance we have information that can help in:
Further explanation can be found in Business Helper, a web-based guide for business users. We can also provide statistics that enable a comparison of the results of your business with industry results. Contact our Information Centre for more information on Business Helper or on business profiling, please phone toll free 0508 525 525, or send an email to info@stats.govt.nz.