Ethnicity, Gender and Employment Status
| The highest proportion of self-employed are among Asian and Pakeha populations... ...the lowest are recorded by Maori and Pacific Islanders | Data from the 1996 Census shows that the largest proportion of the employed labour force of any ethnic group classified as self-employed without employees is amongst the Asian population (13.8 percent). The second highest proportion is recorded by European/Pakeha with 12.4 percent. Similar patterns emerge with respect to the proportion that are classified as employers, with 8.4 percent of the employed European/Pakeha labour force classified in this category and 7.3 percent of the Asian employed labour force. In both of these categories, New Zealand Maori and Pacific Islanders record significantly lower proportions, with a greater fraction of these populations instead classified as paid employees. |
Table 6. - Ethnicity and Employment Type 1996
| | Paid Employee | Self-employed without employees | Employer |
| European/Pakeha | 73.7 | 12.4 | 8.4 |
| New Zealand Maori | 82.4 | 6.1 | 3.4 |
| Pacific Island | 84.7 | 4.1 | 1.8 |
| Asian | 65.6 | 13.8 | 7.3 |
| Other | 73.9 | 11.2 | 6.7 |
| Not Specified | 41.1 | 6.7 | 4.0 |
| A greater proportion of males are self-employed | By gender, it is clear that a far larger proportion of the male working population are classified as either self-employed with no employees or as an employer. A greater proportion of the employed female labour force is classified as paid employees. |
Table 7. - Gender and Employment Type 1996
| | Paid Employee | Self-employed without employees | Employer |
| Male | 70.1 | 14.3 | 9.8 |
| Female | 79.5 | 7.8 | 4.8 |