Young, brown population critical to future job market

Social Development Minister Steve Maharey has a simple message for people wondering why Maori and Pacific Island unemployment should be targeted.

"Just ask about your superannuation," he told the Herald.

"This is a young population. If they don't have lots of skill so that they can earn high wages and add value to the economy, then it's going to be very difficult to sustain ... spending."

Labour, along with other political parties, has targeted the burgeoning young, brown population as the critical face of the future job market.

Maori Party list candidate Morrie Love has also said that economic growth will be fragile if the country fails to ensure its young Maori labour force has higher skills and better education.

"That really has to be the country's goal. It's pretty well accepted that New Zealand is heading towards a major crisis in the job market across the board, worse than now." Those views are echoed by Business New Zealand and the former head of Te Puni Kokiri Professor Ngatata Love, whose Closing the Gaps reports highlighted the social and economic inequalities between Maori and non-Maori.

According to Statistics New Zealand's population forecasts, the workforce will become noticeably younger over the next two decades, and ethnically more diverse.

By 2021, as the European population ages and increasing numbers enter retirement, the median age for Maori will still be just 26.4 years, compared with 44.3 years for Europeans.

The European population will grow by 5 per cent, but the Maori population will increase 29 per cent from 590,000 to 760,000.

Business NZ chief executive Phil O'Reilly notes there are already positive developments for Maori enterprise, in terms of participation and new ventures.

"And there better be because demographics mean that Maori business must be successful for New Zealand to be successful."

Professor Love said population changes from 2011 will be dramatic "and we need to accelerate the development of skill sets".

"Because that's what industry needs and that will lift incomes. If we don't it [New Zealand] isn't going to do well."

Labour, which initially embraced Closing the Gaps, ditched the phrase almost five years ago.

It has yet to release its Maori policy for this election, and it is not clear to what extent it will take policies targeted at addressing Maori underachievement in education and jobs to the general electorate.

Mr Maharey said specific policies to address unemployment would be targeted at everyone.

But Maori organisations would continue to be used to deliver services to Maori, because that worked.

He said the decrease in the jobless rate was not just the result of a booming economy, but reflected active job policies such as targeting older unemployed and those on benefits.

National and New Zealand First both acknowledge the disparity between Maori and non-Maori jobless rates, and remain committed to policies they say are need-based and not race-based.

Maori Party draft policies include a focus on trade training and improved access to tertiary education, although there are no spending details.