By Kaya Selby, RNZ Pacific journalist and is republished with permission
Pasifika people continue to have the highest unemployment rate out of any ethnic group in Aotearoa.
Unemployment figures released Wednesday show an 11.9 percent unemployment rate for Pasifika in the first quarter of 2026, compared to a national rate of 5.3 percent.
For Pasifika, it is a slight improvement from the December 2025 quarter, but it is one percent higher than this time last year.
In Auckland, where nearly two-thirds of Pasifika people live, the unemployment rate fell slightly to 13 percent, compared to 6.6 percent nationally.
At the same time 20.1 percent of Pasfika are underutilised in their work, a 2.4 percent drop from last quarter.
The figures show an increase in employment coinciding with around 8700 more Pasifika in the working-age population.
The Māori unemployment rate is slightly lower at 11.5 percent, but their underutilisation rate is higher at 22.3 percent.
NZ Labour Party deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni told RNZ Pacific the reduction is minor, bordering on meaningless.
“It’s still double what the national average is,” she said.
“We know that there are 20,000 fewer jobs in the construction industry, and that many of our Pacific people have been working and serving in that industry.”
RNZ Pacific has reached out to Pacific Peoples Minister Paul Goldsmith’s office for comment.
‘Complex needs’ holding Pasifika back
This comes after the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) revealed that a seven million dollar programme to help Pasifika find employment has so far only put 84 people into full-time work.
The Pacific Employment Action Plan (PEAP) Fund kicked off in June 2024. It offered funding to community groups supporting unemployed, uneducated Pasifika to enter the workforce. MSD said they have so far spent around $2.4 million.
In a 12-month progress report published last month, MSAD reported that for 624 enrolled participants, the “realities of the job market” were holding most of them back.
But even though some people found part time or casual work, more than half were no better off than before.
MSD said this was not unexpected, but that “these people are still currently participating in the programme, and MSD expects that employment and education outcomes will increase over time.”
“When there are fewer opportunities for employment, people often choose to undertake education and training instead,” the report noted.
Around 253 of participants were able to complete some form of training, such as CV writing, a first aid course, or getting a driver’s licence.
Aside from external conditions, MSD said most had complex needs that held them back.
“One of the main barriers to getting work was participants’ level and complexity of needs upon joining – such as mental health, justice involvement, and low self confidence.”
“Many participants were early on their employment journey… practical obstacles like language, literacy, access to technology, and missing credentials further limited progress.”
Another government funded employment initiative, Tupu Aotearoa, lost around $22m in funding over four years in the last budget.
