Life sours for Auckland's Asians

By JEREMY REES

Many new Asian migrants are returning home to seek work or trying to move to Australia and the United States to escape "endemic under-employment", a study of Asian ethnic communities in Auckland has found.

Faced with high levels of unemployment, many are preparing to look elsewhere for jobs. New Zealand is in danger of becoming "a stepping stone" to other more desirable places to work rather than being a good destination, says the study by Auckland City Council's policy researchers.

It found that all ethnic groups among Auckland's more than 110,000 Asian people were suffering high unemployment, well above the New Zealand average.

"But the unemployment figures fail to show the true seriousness of the situation."

The Asian Communities Needs report paints a picture of "endemic levels of under-employment," at odds with the popular image of a wealthy Asian community. It cites cases of skilled workers driving taxis to make ends meet, self-employed businesses barely making a living and people without jobs who are ineligible for a benefit.

That is leading to "an outflow of recent migrants now seeking work back in their home country or in nations such as Australia or the US.

The report, presented to Auckland City's City advocacy committee, blames a lack of accurate information on life in New Zealand for immigrants before they come.

"The 'points system' emphasises skills and qualifications that in many cases go unrecognised in the actual jobs market in New Zealand," says the report, which interviewed 125 migrants from various Asian communities.

Participants told the researchers that lack of work is causing "extensive stress."

"There are marital problems, there are families within which one or both parents have returned home to find work and there are ongoing financial difficulties."

Many believed employers were prejudiced against people who spoke English as a second language.

Youths interviewed generally spoke better English but often felt "ambivalent or even negative" about Auckland, home to nearly three-quarters of all Asians in the country.

Many felt torn between family expectations and Kiwi values and felt torn by wanting academic success as well as being part of social groups.

KEY FINDINGS

* There are at least 110,000 Asian people in Auckland - more than the population of Hamilton

* 71 per cent of Asian migrants live in Auckland

* The majority of Asian people in New Zealand are recent migrants, arriving in the past 10 years

* All Asian groups, except the Japanese, have substantially higher rates of unemployment than the New Zealand average

* Many Asian youths find life in Auckland "clean, green and boring"

* Many Asian migrants feel Kiwis are not overtly racist but they also feel the job market is stacked against them, with many employers not wanting to interview people with a foreign name

* Hospitals are especially seen as difficult places because Asians feel a lack of people who speak their languages

* Many feel burglary is an especially bad problem in New Zealand

* Many Asian parents feel New Zealand schools are easy and slack compared to home