The effect of first language and education on literacy, employment and income: An analysis from the Adult Literacy and Life Skills survey

5. Employment

This section looks at the effect on employment of having English as an additional language. Four measures of employment are used: labour force participation, unemployment, whether people are full-time, part-time or self-employed, and the skill levels of jobs.

5.1: Labour force participation

The labour force participation rate is the proportion of the population who are in the labour force (both employed and unemployed).

Labour force participation is affected by qualifications, literacy and numeracy, as well as varying by age and gender. Figure 11 shows the differences in labour force participation rates by qualification level and first language. The chart on the left is the observed values from the ALL survey, without taking account of age and gender differences. The chart on the right shows the predicted values from a model of labour force participation that controls for age and gender.

The observed values show that people with English as an additional language had lower rates of labour force participation than those with English as a first language. The predicted values show that even after controlling for differences in English-based literacy, there was still a lower rate of labour force participation for people with English as an additional language. The results for numeracy were very similar.

Figure 11: Labour force participation rate by first language and qualification level for people aged 25 to 65

Note: Results from a logistic regression using labour force participation as the outcome. Explanatory variables are language, gender, age, and qualification level. The reference group is females aged 40 with literacy at the population mean.

The country of education did not have any significant effect on labour force participation, once differences in literacy or numeracy levels were controlled for.

Modelling region of first language against labour force participation showed significant differences between language groups. However, literacy and numeracy were not statistically significant. Therefore, it is not possible to conclude whether differences in labour force participation just reflect the different average literacy and numeracy levels of the language groups or whether there was an effect over and above literacy and numeracy levels.

5.2: Unemployment

The unemployment rate is the proportion of the labour force that is unemployed. The questions asked in the ALL survey were not as specific as those required for the official definition of unemployment, which means that the ALL survey results in a larger estimate of unemployment.

In general, the ALL survey shows that unemployment was affected by both qualification level and literacy or numeracy. Figure 12 shows the differences in unemployment rates by qualification level and first language. The chart on the left is the observed values from the ALL survey, without taking account of literacy, age and gender differences. The chart on the right is the predicted values from a model of labour force participation that controls for literacy, age and gender.

The observed values show decreasing rates of unemployment for people with English as a first language as qualification levels increase. However, for people with English as an additional language, unemployment rates were similar across qualification levels. The predicted values compare the rates for people with the same level of English-based literacy. These rates still show a similar pattern to the observed. This means that a person with English as an additional language had a higher chance of being unemployed than a first language speaker with the same level of English-based literacy and qualifications. The modelled results when controlling for numeracy were similar to those when controlling for prose literacy.

Figure 12: Unemployment rates by first language and qualification level for people aged 25 to 65

Note: Results are from a logistic regression using unemployment as the outcome. Population is people in the labour force. Explanatory variables are literacy, language, gender, age and qualification level. The reference group is females, aged 35 with literacy at the population mean. Results for people with postgraduate degrees were not statistically significant due to small sub-sample size.

The country of education did not have any significant effect on unemployment, once differences in literacy levels were controlled for.  This suggests that the effect of having some or all education in New Zealand is to improve literacy and numeracy, which in turn reduces the chance of being unemployed.

Modelling region of first language against unemployment showed significant differences between language groups. However, literacy and numeracy were not statistically significant. Therefore, it is not possible to conclude whether differences in unemployment just reflect the different average literacy and numeracy levels of the groups or whether there is an effect over and above literacy and numeracy levels.

5.3: Full-time, part-time and self-employment

The ALL survey shows that for people in employment, people with English as an additional language were more likely to work as full-time employees, and less likely to be employed part-time or self-employed.

Further analysis of the data showed that having English as an additional language was not statistically significant in explaining the probability of being self-employed (compared with employed). The level of highest qualification was also not statistically significant. However, literacy and numeracy levels were statistically significant factors in the probability of being self-employed, with people with higher skills being more likely to be self-employed. The effect was stronger for numeracy than for prose literacy. 

Figure 13: Distribution of people in employment by type of employment and first language for people aged 25 to 65

Figure 14 shows the differences in full-time employment by qualification level and first language. The chart on the left is the observed values from the ALL survey, without taking account of age and gender. The chart on the right is the predicted values from a model of full-time employment that controls for age and gender.

Having English as an additional language was found to be statistically significant in explaining the probability of working full-time (compared with part-time). People with English as an additional language were more likely to work full-time, after controlling for qualification levels and gender. Literacy and numeracy levels did not have an effect on whether people worked full-or part-time. People with degrees or above were much more likely to work full-time.

Figure 14: Proportion of employees working full-time by first language and qualification level for people aged 25 to 65

Note: Results are from a logistic regression using being full-time employed as the outcome. Population is people in employment, excluding self-employment. Explanatory variables are language, gender and qualification level. The reference group is females.

5.4: Working in a skilled job

Analysis of the ALL data has shown that the use of a computer at work was a good indicator of being required to do a range of numeracy and literacy tasks at work (Lane, 2009). It provides a succinct indicator for looking at the relationship between first language and employment in skilled or unskilled work. Analysis of the ALL data showed that both literacy or numeracy levels and educational qualifications had an effect on whether someone is likely to work in a job requiring the use of a computer.

Figure 15 shows the differences in use of computers at work by both qualification level and first language. The chart on the left is the observed values from the ALL survey, without taking account of literacy or numeracy, age and gender. The chart on the right is the predicted values from a model of computer use at work that controls for numeracy, age and gender.

The observed values show that the proportion of people in jobs requiring the use of a computer varied by both first language and qualification level. Around half of people with English as a first language with no educational qualifications used a computer at work. However, only one-fifth of people with English as an additional language and no education qualifications used a computer at work. The difference diminished with qualification level, with little to no difference for people with postgraduate qualifications. This result suggests that people with English as an additional language (other than those with postgraduate qualifications) tend to work in lower- skilled jobs than people with English as a first language with the same level of qualifications.

Figure 15: Proportion of people using a computer at work by highest qualification and first language aged 25 to 65

Note: Results from a logistic regression using computer use at work as the outcome. Population is people in employment, excluding self-employed. Explanatory variables are numeracy, language, gender and qualification level. Reference group is females with literacy at the population mean.

When prose literacy was controlled for in the model, there was no statistically significant difference in the use of computers at work between people with English as an additional language and people with English as a first language. Therefore, most of the difference in the observed values is due to difference in levels of English-based prose literacy.

However, when numeracy was controlled for in the model, some difference remained between the two populations.  This suggests that a person with English as an additional language was less likely to work in a skilled job than a person with English as first language even when they had the same level of English-based numeracy. The difference was likely to be due to lower levels of English-based prose literacy among people with English as an additional language.

The country of education was not related to the chances of working in job that requires a computer, once first language, qualifications level and numeracy were accounted for. The region of first language was also not related to working in a job that requires a computer, once qualifications and numeracy were accounted for.