Literacy and Life Skills for Pasifika Adults: Results from the Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey

8. Income

This section is concerned with the distribution of skills by respondents’ income quintile amongst Pasifika peoples.

The income quintiles for Pasifika people based on the ALL dataset are

• Quintile 1 (lowest) – $0 – $8,400
• Quintile 2 – $8401 – $20,000
• Quintile 3 – $20,001 – $30,000
• Quintile 4 – $30,001 – $45,000
• Quintile 5 – $45,001 and higher.
  

Figures 8.1 to 8.4 show the distributions of each of prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy and problem solving skill by income quintile for Pasifika adults in New Zealand.

Overall, Figures 8.1 to 8.5 indicate that:

• For all four skill domains (prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy, and problem solving skill), for the income quintiles where information was available, regardless of income quintile, the majority (from 63 percent to 93 percent) of Pasifika adults in 2006 had level 1 or 2 skills.
• Where comparison was possible (most clearly for prose literacy and document literacy), Pasifika adults in the highest two income quintiles had substantially higher skills than Pasifika adults with less income.
  

Figure 8.1: Prose literacy level by income, ALL only

Note:

1. To allow statistically robust estimates, levels 1 and 2 and levels 3, 4 and 5 were grouped together.

Figure 8.2: Document literacy level by income, ALL only

Note:

1. To allow statistically robust estimates, levels 1 and 2 and levels 3, 4 and 5 were grouped together.

Figure 8.3: Numeracy level by income, ALL only

Notes:

1. To allow statistically robust estimates, levels 3, 4 and 5 were grouped together.
2. Numeracy was not measured in the IALS survey.
3. Figures for income quintiles 1 and 3 were not included because of their low statistical quality.
   

Figure 8.4: Problem-solving level by income, ALL only

Notes:

1. To allow statistically robust estimates, levels 1 and 2 and levels 3 and 4 were grouped together.
2. Problem-solving was not measured in the IALS survey.
3. Figures for income quintiles 1, 2 and 3 were not included because of their low statistical quality.