Proposed changes to Household Labour Force Survey income data: Summary of feedback reports on the feedback we received from the March/April 2026 consultation on our research paper, Proposed changes to Household Labour Force Survey income data.
Stats NZ sought feedback on whether administrative (admin) data could be used to create viable replacements for Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) income measures. We proposed that any work on replacing HLFS income variables with admin data should focus on a linked HLFS and admin-data model. Wage and salary, government transfer, and ACC income would be provided through admin data, while self-employment income would continue to be collected in the survey.
To help us decide whether we should continue with this work and to inform our approach, we asked for feedback on how users currently use HLFS income data and if linked HLFS and admin income data would continue to or better meet their needs.
Why we’re considering a move to admin data
One of Stats NZ’s strategic goals is to become an ‘admin-data-first’ organisation by improving our reuse of data gathered and held by other government agencies as part of their routine business or service. Stats NZ’s statement of strategic intentions 2025-2029 provides more detail.
Since the New Zealand Income Survey ended in 2016, admin data has been the preferred long-term goal for sourcing income data for the HLFS. Admin data has potential to improve data quality and reduce respondent burden and collection costs.
A strategy like this mitigates collection costs for household surveys and growing difficulties meeting targets for achieved sample and response rates. Replacing income questions in household surveys with admin data is one way we can move towards this goal.
Removing some, or all, income questions from the HLFS would reduce interview times, resulting in cost savings and reduced pressure on collection resources in June quarters when income data is collected.
The feasibility of using admin data has been successfully demonstrated in the Household Economic Survey and the Household Income and Living Survey. These surveys provide examples for the HLFS to follow.
Summary of submissions received
We received 10 submissions, which included responses to our online form and emailed responses. In addition, before launching broader customer feedback, we ran a key customer workshop with a selection of known users – verbal feedback provided there informed our approach to this broader consultation round.
Submissions came from a range of users, including those using HLFS income data for research, advocacy, government and business monitoring and decision-making, and contributions to international datasets. We also received responses from Stats NZ data collection specialists experienced in collecting HLFS income data.
How well would admin data continue to meet customer needs?
The majority of submitters indicated that linking HLFS and admin income data was a promising area for further investigation, though most of this group felt we would need additional research to ensure that such linked data would meet their needs as well as the current survey approach does.
Some specific areas noted for future research were:
- improving linkage rates
- increasing use of admin paid-hours information
- additional analysis at the unit record level and of income distributions.
A minority of submitters felt that linking HLFS and admin income data would never meet their needs. Reasons for this included relying on surveyed income information to compare with admin data, valuing the direct collection of income data alongside other HLFS variables, concerns about modelling pre-2007 timeseries, and reduced ability to identify illicit and untaxed income.
There was consensus that, at present, linked self-employment and admin income data or reporting on standalone admin data would not meet customer needs. There was also general agreement that the options investigated as part of this research project were comprehensive, covering all currently feasible options to produce viable replacements for HLFS income measures.
Could we improve our ability to meet customer needs?
There were some suggestions about how using admin data could improve HLFS income data, including increasing the frequency of release, reducing measurement error for some income sources (for example, government transfers), and supporting more robust earnings-focused analysis within the HLFS framework.
There were also suggestions for how this work could return dividends to the broader admin data system, including improvements to HLFS link rates and the potential to audit-match IDI data.
What other priorities and concerns did our submitters have?
Key priorities from our submitters included:
- ensuring we continue to produce high-quality income statistics
- gaining consent from respondents to having their administrative data used for statistical purposes
- transparent decision-making and communications about any planned changes to the HLFS.
Risks identified included time series breaks (both pre-2007 and if future tax system adjustments impacted data availability), potential under-reporting of income through the tax system, and challenges with conceptual alignment or over-extension of admin data analysis.
Most of these risks, however, were considered manageable, with clear suggestions for how they might be mitigated.
Next steps
Our work on this project to date, plus the feedback received during the consultation, indicates that admin income data could be a viable substitute for HLFS income variables.
While feedback was mixed, there was general support for further investigation into a linked HLFS and admin data model in which wage and salary, government transfer, and ACC income for HLFS respondents would be provided through admin data, while we would continue to collect self-employment data in the HLFS.
We need to further investigate a linked HLFS and admin data model to provide evidence that such a model would meet our submitters’ information needs and expectations around data quality and timeliness.
Substantive work on this project will be considered in future when resources and priorities allow. We will keep stakeholders informed of our future intentions and continue to engage with them on any future work.
In the meantime, we will continue to collect income data as usual via HLFS questions in June quarters. Labour market statistics (income) results are scheduled to be released on 26 August 2026.
We would like to thank those who have taken the time to prepare submissions and engage with us during this consultation. Your input is greatly appreciated and will inform any future work on this initiative.
Enquiries
Please contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions.
