Most migrants satisfied after 18 months in New Zealand

More than nine out of 10 (91.3 percent) migrants were satisfied or very satisfied with life in New Zealand, 18
months after taking up residence, says a second wave of interviews from the Longitudinal Immigration
Survey: New Zealand (LisNZ) released by Statistics New Zealand today. This proportion compared with
93.3 percent at wave 1. More than eight out of 10 (81.3 percent) migrants felt safe or very safe in New
Zealand at wave 2, compared with 85.9 percent at wave 1.

The LisNZ is a longitudinal survey of immigrants developed by the Department of Labour in partnership with
Statistics NZ who carried out the survey. The LisNZ involves interviews of the same group of migrants at
6 months (wave 1), 18 months (wave 2), and 36 months (wave 3) after taking up residence. The main
objective of the LisNZ is to inform immigration policies and assist with developing settlement services.

At wave 2, more than seven out of 10 (74.3 percent) migrants were employed, compared with 71.2 percent
at wave 1. Compared with other migrant categories, skilled secondary migrants showed the largest
movement into employment, with 16.0 percent of them moving from not being employed at wave 1 to being
employed at wave 2. More than two-thirds (68.4 percent) of employed migrants worked in a skilled job at
wave 2. Of these, 8.6 percent had moved from a lower skilled job at wave 1 to a higher skilled job at
wave 2. More than eight out of 10 employed migrants were satisfied or very satisfied with their main job at
each wave (80.9 percent at wave 1 and 81.8 percent at wave 2).

The overall median hourly wage for migrants was $20.00 at wave 2, compared with $18.00 at wave 1. More
than four out of 10 (42.9 percent) migrants owned or partly owned the dwelling they were living in at wave 2,
compared with 29.9 percent at wave 1.

Geoff Bascand
Government Statistician
29 May 2009
END

See also the Hot Off The Press information release Longitudinal Immigration Survey: New Zealand – Wave
2, 2008.