Pacific economic trends and snapshot 2016

Abstract

Pacific Economic Trends and Snapshot 2016 updates our 2013 Snapshot and provides new insights that can be used to inform policies, programmes and further research. This 2016 update includes new statistics on housing and Pasifika businesses. The key message is that gaps are closing in some areas of education and workforce participation but more is needed to support higher tertiary qualifications and pathways into occupations with higher wages. Gains in education and workforce participation have not yet materialised in significant improvements to Pacific peoples’ economic wellbeing. Pacific people continue to report significantly lower net worth than all other groups which is intimately connected with significantly lower rates of home ownership and lower incomes. These factors, along with a strong concentration in a small number of unskilled and low skilled industries, contribute considerably to the vulnerability of Pacific communities in times of economic recession. These considerations require urgent attention if median household incomes for Pacific people are to improve in line with MBIE’s goal to raise median household incomes 40 per cent by 2025.