- 5.2 Employment in Selected Service Industries
- 5.3 Employment in Selected Service Industries by Region
- 5.4 Conclusion
5. Summary
This chapter provides a general overview of the regional differences and recent changes in employment in services in 1986 and 1991. Employees are located by where they live rather than where they work. Employment in services is presented as numbers of full-time equivalent employees per 1000 persons usually resident in each area. In summary:
- between 1986 and 1991, there were large increases in per capita employment in welfare services and real estate and business services in rural and minor urban areas combined; and there were large decreases in per capita employment in personal and household services
- the Southland and Hawke's Bay and Clutha Central Otago regions have high levels of per capita employment in agricultural services, while the Wairarapa and Tongariro regions experienced large declines in per capita employment in agricultural services between 1986 and 1991
- there are relatively small differences between regions in per capita employment in educational services in combined minor urban and rural areas, and almost all regions experienced an increase in per capita employment in these services between 1986 and 1991
- the combined rural and minor urban areas of most regions experienced a reduction in per capita employment in health and medical services between 1986 and 1991
- there is considerable variation between regions in per capita employment in health and medical services in combined minor urban and rural areas, with particularly high levels in the West Coast and Coastal North Otago regions, and particularly low levels in the Bay of Plenty, Marlborough and Taranaki regions
- per capita employment in personal and household services declined substantially in the combined rural and minor urban areas of all regions between 1986 and 1991, with particularly low levels occurring in the East Cape and Wanganui regions
5.1 Measuring Service Provision
Changes in both population and employment in rural and minor urban areas between 1986 and 1991 are reflected in the changes in per capita employment in various services. Employment has been calculated on a full-time equivalent basis. Employment in services is described here on a per 1000 usual residents basis by region for the 1986 and 1991 Census. It is important to note that employment is by location of residence rather than the more appropriate location of workplace.
While the number of people employed in a service industry does not necessary equate with the availability and output of that service, it is an indicator that can reveal information about service provided in an area. Given that the information here is on employment by location of residence, it was considered appropriate to combine minor urban and rural area data in each region. There will also be a considerable 'tnoise'1 factor caused by the large numbers of persons living in peri-urban rural areas, but actually working in the main urban areas.
This bias factor is illustrated by the apparently high per capita employment in recreational and cultural services in the rural Wellington Region relative to other regions. Similarly, the high per capita employment of Coastal North Otago persons in medical and other health services is likely to be at least in part due to proximity to Dunedin, a national and regional centre for health services, research and training.
5.2 Employment in Selected Service Industries
Between 1986 and 1991 there were large changes in per capita employment in selected service industries in rural and minor urban areas combined. Relatively large increases occurred in welfare services (old people's homes, child care centres, other welfare institutions) and in real estate and business services. These increases also occurred in urban areas over the same period, and reflect the increasing contribution of the service sector as a whole to total employment. In some areas there is likely to have been significant expansion in welfare services targeted at senior citizens. The 1986 to 1991 period saw considerable expansion in preschool facilities of various kinds. This can be expected to have contributed a great deal to the increase in per capita employment in welfare services.
Small but significant increases also occurred in per capita employment in educational, recreational and cultural, and veterinary services.
Per capita employment in personal and household services decreased sharply over the 1986 to 1991 period. This large decrease is likely to result from a decrease in discretionary personal expenditure at a time of recession. It is also probable that reduced expenditure on automotive services, both by inhabitants of minor urban areas and rural industry, is reflected in these decreases. Per capita employment agricultural services and land transport also declined sharply over the 1986 to 1991 period, reflecting the overall contraction in primary sector spending. The decline in per capita employment in land transport may also reflect restructuring and redundancies in the railways.
There were small decreases in per capita employment in medical and health services, and a slightly greater decrease in per capita employment in communications. The decrease in per capita employment in communication services can be explained by the closure of post offices and increased automation in the telecommunications industry.
There was a large increase in per capita employment in real estate and business services, reflecting trends in the economy as a whole. Per capita employment in dental and other health services and public administration and defence also increased over the period.
5.3 Employment in Selected Service Industries by Region
There are marked regional differences in per capita rural employment in a range of services, and in the recent changes to employment levels.
Regions with very high levels of per capita employment in agricultural services in 1991 include Clutha Central Otago, Southland and Hawke's Bay. These regions are heavily reliant on agriculture. Other regions with pockets of intensive agriculture, such as Canterbury, Aorangi and Coastal North Otago also have high levels of per capita employment in agricultural services.
Regions with very low levels of per capita employment in agricultural services include the West Coast, Thames Valley, Northland, and Horowhenua.
Between 1986 and 1991 most regions experienced declines in per capita employment in agricultural services. Declines were particularly large in the Wairarapa and Tongariro regions. It is probable that this is a reflection of reduced farm inputs in areas of extensive and somewhat marginal hill country sheep farms due to depressed commodity prices. The extent to which these declines represent a permanent loss of some agriculture services from these areas is impossible to say from the data available for this study. The declines may be of particular concern to the agriculture sector in these areas who are faced with the additional costs associated with obtaining some services from outside their districts.
Declines in per capita employment in communication services were especially large in the East Cape, Coastal North Otago, Clutha Central Otago and Wellington regions. The large declines in the Wellington region can probably be explained by the loss of jobs from the communication sector in main urban areas occupied by people from rural areas.
Per capita employment in educational services increased in the combined rural and minor urban areas of all regions between 1986 and 1991, except for Tongariro where the level declined very slightly. While the provision of educational employment is influenced heavily by the demographic structure of a region's population, there are relatively small differences between the regions in the levels of per capita employment in educational services.
In health services however, there is substantial variation in the level of per capita employment in rural and minor urban areas combined. Particularly high levels occur in the Coastal North Otago and West Coast regions. High levels on the West Coast can probably be explained by the region's relative isolation from large urban areas, and therefore that its small service towns have considerably more medical employment than similar sized towns in other regions. High levels of per capita employment in Coastal North Otago are probably related to rural commuters to Dunedin, a major centre for health related industry. Particularly low levels of per capita employment in health and medical services occur in the Bay of Plenty, Marlborough and Taranaki regions. The extent to which this is compensated for by the supply and accessibility of such facilities in the urban areas in these regions such as Tauranga and New Plymouth is unknown.
Between 1986 and 1991 the rural and minor urban areas combined of most regions experienced declines in per capita employment in health and medical services. It is probable that this reflects the closure and scaling down of a number of relatively small government funded medical facilities in small towns and centres, as well as the migration of a number of medical professionals away from rural areas. In the Horowhenua, Tongariro, Coastal North Otago and Waikato regions, these decreases were relatively large. The rural and minor urban areas of some regions did however, experience a small increase in employment in medical and health services. This includes the Southland, Canterbury, Wellington, Wanganui and Bay of Plenty regions.
As has been outlined earlier, there was a substantial decline in the per capita level of employment in personal and household services in rural and minor urban areas combined, between 1986 and 1991. These decreases were particularly large in the Southland, Aorangi, Nelson Bays, Wellington and Northland regions. The decreases in some regions are likely to reflect loss of jobs in large urban areas by rural residents. The high levels of per capita employment in household and personal services in Canterbury, Auckland and Wellington indicates that such a link exists. Regions such as Clutha Central Otago with large tourist industries also have relatively high levels of per capita employment in personal and household services. Regions with particularly low levels of per capita employment in these services in combined rural and minor urban areas include the East Cape and Wanganui.
Per capita employment in welfare services increased dramatically in all regions between 1986 and 1991. The increases were relatively lower in the Wairarapa, Wellington and Horowhenua regions which had high levels of employment in these services in 1986, than in regions which had low levels of per capita employment in these services in 1986. The Coastal North Otago region in particular experienced a very large increase.
5.4 Conclusion
There is considerable diversity in per capita employment in various service industries both between and within regions, and this diversity is reflected in the changes occurring between 1986 and 1991.
Regions which consistently have low levels of per capita employment in a number of selected services include the East Cape, Tongariro and Wanganui. Those which generally have above average levels of per capita employment in selected services are those which contain large urban areas. This includes the Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury and Coastal-North Otago regions.
There are major limitations on the value of inter-regional comparisons in rural employment rates in many industry sectors defined by location of employees' residence rather than workplace. This is particularly the case where per capita urban employment in a service sector is much different than rural employment rates. It would be worthwhile to run this analysis again using data on employment by workplace rather than residential location.
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