Quality Statement

Label
Status in employment - 2023 Census: Information by concept en-NZ
Definition

Status in employment classifies employed people aged 15 years and over according to whether they were working for themselves or for other people in their main job. Employed people are categorised into one of the following:

  • paid employee
  • employer
  • self-employed and without employees
  • unpaid family worker.
en-NZ
Overall quality rating

Moderate quality
Data quality processes section below has more detail on the rating.

en-NZ
Priority level

Priority level 2
A priority level is assigned to all census concepts: priority 1, 2, or 3 (with 1 being highest and 3 being the lowest priority).
Status in employment is a priority 2 concept. Priority 2 concepts cover key subject populations that are important for policy development, evaluation, or monitoring. These concepts are given second priority in terms of quality, time, and resources across all phases of a census.
The census priority level for status in employment remains the same as 2018.

The 2023 Census: Final content report has more information on priority ratings for census concepts.

en-NZ
Subject population

Employed census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over
‘Subject population’ means the people, families, households, or dwellings that the variable applies to.

en-NZ
How this data is classified

Status in employment is classified into the following categories:

Census status in employment V1.0.0 – level 1 of 2

Code Category
1 Paid employee
2 Employer
3 Self-employed and without employees
4 Unpaid family worker
9 Not elsewhere included

The level 1 category ‘Not elsewhere included’ contains the residual categories of ‘Response unidentifiable’ and ‘Not stated’.

Follow the link above the table to examine the classification in more detail.

The 2023 Census classification for status in employment is consistent with that used in the 2018 Census.

Standards and classifications has more information on what classifications are, how they are reviewed, where they are stored, and how to provide feedback on them.

en-NZ
Question format

Status in employment is collected on the individual form (question 42 paper form).

There were differences in the way person could respond between the modes of collection (online and paper forms):

On the online form:

  • built-in routing functionality directed individuals to the appropriate questions so that only those in the subject population saw this question
  • only one response could be selected for the status in employment question. If a further response was selected, the response given previously disappeared.

On the paper form:

  • it was possible for individuals outside the subject population to respond
  • multiple responses for this question were possible, which were resolved through edits.

Data from online forms may therefore be of higher overall quality than data from paper forms. However, processing checks and edits were in place to improve the quality of the paper forms.

Stats NZ Store House has samples for both the individual and dwelling paper forms.

en-NZ
Examples of how this data is used

Data-use outside Stats NZ:

  • to provide information on the economic and social structure of the labour force
  • to examine demographic trends for different status in employment categories, for example, features of people who are self-employed.

Data-use by Stats NZ:

  • alongside industry, sector of ownership, and occupation to reweight the Labour Cost Index. This index provides a measure of wage inflation and is used in wage negotiations, contract escalation clauses, economic research, and policymaking.
en-NZ
Data sources

Statistical imputation was used for missing census responses and responses that could not be classified or did not provide the type of information asked for. The table below shows the distribution of data sources for status in employment data.

Data sources for status in employment, as a percentage of the employed census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over, 2023 Census
Source of status in employment data Percent
2023 Census response 85.0
Admin data 0.0
Deterministic derivation 0.0
Statistical imputation 15.0
 CANCEIS(1) donor's response sourced from 2023 Census form 15.0
No information 0.0
Total 100.0
1. CANCEIS = imputation based on CANadian Census Edit and Imputation System

Note: Due to rounding, individual figures may not always sum to the stated total(s) or score contributions.


Editing, data sources, and imputation in the 2023 Census describes how data quality is improved by editing, and how missing and residual responses are filled with alternative data sources (admin data and historical census responses) or statistical imputation. The paper also describes the use of CANCEIS (the CANadian Census Editing and Imputation System), which is used to perform imputation.

en-NZ
Missing and residual responses

Missing and residual responses represent data gaps where respondents either did not provide answers (missing responses) or provided answers that were not valid (residual responses).

Where possible, alternative data sources have been used to fill missing and residual responses in the 2018 and 2023 Censuses.

Percentage of ‘Not stated’ for the employed census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over:

  • 2023: 0.0 percent
  • 2018: 0.0 percent
  • 2013: 2.2 percent

In 2018 and 2023, statistical imputation was used to replace any responses coded to ‘Response unidentifiable’. In output for the 2013 Census, responses coded to this residual were grouped with ‘Not stated’ and classified as ‘Not elsewhere included’. Due to the small number of responses coded to ‘Response unidentifiable’, the ‘Not elsewhere included’ percentage was the same as ‘Not stated’ for the 2013 Census.

en-NZ
Data quality processes

Overall quality rating: Moderate
Data has been evaluated to assess whether it meets quality standards and is suitable for use.

Three quality metrics contribute to the overall quality rating:

  • data sources and coverage
  • consistency and coherence
  • accuracy of responses.

The lowest rated metric determines the overall quality rating.

Data quality assurance in the 2023 Census provides more information on the quality rating scale.

Data sources and coverage: Moderate quality
The quality of all the data sources that contribute to the output for the variable were assessed. To calculate the data sources and coverage quality score for a variable, each data source is rated and multiplied by the proportion it contributes to the total output.

The rating for a valid census response is defined as 1.00. Ratings for other sources are the best estimates available of their quality relative to a census response. Each source that contributes to the output for that variable is then multiplied by the proportion it contributes to the total output. The total score then determines the metric rating according to the following range:

  • 0.98–1.00 = very high
  • 0.95–<0.98 = high
  • 0.90–<0.95 = moderate
  • 0.75–<0.90 = poor
  • <0.75 = very poor.

The high proportion of status in employment data from 2023 Census forms alongside a moderate data source rating for CANCEIS imputation, resulted in a total score of 0.94 leading to the quality rating of moderate.

Data sources and coverage rating calculation for status in employment, employed census usually resident population count aged 15 years and over, 2023 Census
Source of Status in employment Rating Percent Score contribution
2023 Census response 1.00 85.04 0.85
CANCEIS(1) nearest neighbour imputation 0.60 14.96 0.09
No information 0.00 0.00 0.00
Total 100.00 0.94
1. CANCEIS = imputation based on CANadian Census Edit and Imputation System
Note: Due to rounding, individual figures may not always sum to stated total(s) or score contributions.

While this score has decreased from 0.95 in 2018 to 0.94 in the 2023 Census, the quality of the data sources and coverage is not worse. The change in the rating from high to moderate is caused by a lower score of the CANCEIS imputation methodology. This score has been lowered by a change to our assessment methodology and does not mean that the imputation quality or overall quality of the data for status in employment is thought to be worse in the 2023 Census.

Consistency and coherence: Very high quality
Status in employment data is highly consistent with expectations across all consistency checks.

Accuracy of responses: High quality
Status in employment data has only minor quality issues. The quality of coding and responses within classification categories is high. Any issues with the variable appear in a very low number of cases (typically less than a hundred).

The following factors had a minor impact on the data accuracy:

  • The proportion of responses in the subject population which required editing was similar to the 2018 Census, despite there being an increase in paper form responses. This was due to improvements in scanning and scanning repair.
  • There is a minor level of respondent error in the data impacting accuracy of responses, particularly for respondents in age groups 65+ years providing multiple answers, and people who were unemployed or not in the labour force answering questions about employment.

en-NZ
Recommendations for use and further information

Status in employment data can be used in a comparable manner to the 2013 and 2018 Censuses.

When using this data, users should be aware that:

  • the proportion of data sourced from statistical imputation is greater than that for the overall subject population for some geographies, especially areas affected by the severe weather events of 2023
  • in the age group of 85 years and above the level of statistical imputation is relatively high due to item non-response and a small level of respondent error remaining in the data for employed people.

Comparison to other data sources
Although information on this variable can be found across data sources other than the census, data users are advised to become familiar with the strengths and limitations of the sources before use.

Key considerations when comparing status in employment information from the 2023 Census with other sources include:

  • Census is a key source of information on status in employment for small areas and small populations. Many other sources do not provide detail at this level.
  • Census aims to be a national count of all individuals in a population while other surveys (such as the Household and Labour Force Survey and the General Social Survey) measuring this variable are only based on a sample of the population.
  • Census data captures status in employment at the time of the census; it does not provide information on the permanency of the individual’s status in their main job and whether their employment relationship is on a casual or seasonal basis. This information is collected in the more detailed Household Labour Force Survey.
  • Not all categories in the classification are comparable with other sources, for example, the Quarterly Employment Survey excludes people who are self-employed without employees and the Household Labour Force Survey instructs contractors to state they are self-employed.
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Information by variables from previous censuses

To assess how this concept aligns with the variables from previous censuses, use the links:

Contact our Information centre for further information about using this concept.

en-NZ

Information

History

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Revision Date Responsibility Rationale
20 26/09/2024 10:00:58 AM