Waikato regional economic profile - Waikato Regional Council

5 People5.1 SummaryThis chapter describes the demographics of the people and communities of the regionand the characteristics of the labour force.The availability of suitable labour is a significant foundation of the competitiveness of aregion. This includes the formal skills and qualifications of people in the region – peopleare the source of new ideas and drive innovation. The supply of labour depends on thechoices and decisions about where individuals get the best return for their labour andwhether an area is suitable for their lifestyle. 290Waikato has relatively low and uneven population growth and density. The region has arelatively high population of young Māori. Population ageing, which is a common issuein developed countries internationally, is more pronounced in the country as a wholebut is uneven across the region.The educational attainment of Waikato school leavers is below the national averageand is worst in smaller, more remote communities. The literacy and numeracy ofworkers is also lower than the national level. This is reflected in the occupationalstructure. Local labour market areas are identified on the basis of people’s travel fromtheir homes to work. Over time, the number of local labour market areas is decreasingand the land area of each is growing larger, particularly around Hamilton city, as peopletravel longer distances to work, mostly by private vehicle. There is little inter-regionalcommuting and people travel a longer distance to work than those in other regions.5.2 Demographics5.2.1 PopulationThe Waikato region experienced slightly lower growth than New Zealand as a wholefrom 1991 to 2006 and there is wide variation in growth rates between the districts. Thefastest growing district was Franklin (using the previous boundary), followed byHamilton city. The South Waikato and Waitomo district populations declined from 1991to 2006, by 14 per cent and 4 per cent respectively.The changes to territorial authority and regional council boundaries stemming from theLocal Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009 resulted in a large increase in theWaikato district population in 2011, as the former Franklin district was divided betweenthe Auckland and Waikato regions.290Auckland Council (2011, p. 28).Page 76 Doc #: 2069885