According to the latest unemployment figures, 12.1 percent of Pasifika in Auckland cannot find work. Photo: Supplied/ Unsplash - Josh Olalde
Figures released last week show Aotearoa's unemployment rate has remained at 5.1 percent.
However, Pasifika unemployment has risen to 10.8 percent this quarter, more than double that of the national rate.
Advocates say hard times for the community are only getting harder.
A Pasifika organiser for FIRST Union in Auckland Antonia Lili'i describes the mood amongst her Pasifika members as hopeless.
"We are totally in survival mode...we have been in survival mode since Covid."
Auckland is home to more than 275,000 Pacific Island people as of 2023.
However, according to the latest unemployment figures, 12.1 percent of Pasifika in Auckland cannot find work - the highest level in ten years.
Nationwide, one in ten Pasifika are unemployed - its highest level since 2016.
Antonia said that, if there is no change, many of her members have no choice but to cross the ditch or move to the islands.
"It is easier to live in the islands at the moment, you do not have a mortgage, or rent to pay, and you can plant food to grow back home."
"Young pasifika women or men who have done quite well, a majority of them are moving to Australia."
Auckland councillor Lotu Fuli said that she does not see any light at the end of the tunnel.
"Hard economic times hit Pasifika families disproportionately harder than others," Fuli said.
"The recent cuts in public service jobs, funding for important programs and for community initiatives has exacerbated these issues."
"Every day now, I am seeing families who are not only struggling to make ends meet and feed their families. But now there are also very few services where they can turn to for help due to the ongoing funding cuts."
The opposition agreed that there was not enough being done to address Pasifika unemployment.
Labour deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni pointed to fewer building and construction jobs, as well as hiring freezes in the health sector, as particularly painful.
"Pacific people are generally working in more precarious work, so when there are job losses, sadly it is Pacific who suffer the most."
Meanwhile, the government have expressed relief that the headline figure for unemployment saw little change from last quarter.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis said in a press statement that the result was encouraging.
"I know people are still struggling in this economy, that is why on May 22 the Government will deliver a Budget that continues the work to get the books back in order, while building on the foundations we've laid to foster economic growth. It will be a responsible Budget that secures New Zealand's future."
Economist Craig Renney said that the government has ignored several underlying weaknesses in the labour market.
"About half of all workers saw a pay rise less than inflation, and we saw about three million fewer hours being worked this year."
"The headline rate remained the same, but that disguised numbers inside which are really quite concerning, like Maori and Pasifika unemployment."
Renney said that the higher unemployment rates in those communities should trigger alarm bells for the government.
"Right now, there is no plan to assist those workers to get into work, or get new skills and training."
National did not respond to a request for comment, while ACT declined to comment.
