Replacing retiring baby boomers will cause headaches for Northland employers over the coming decade, but a large cohort of young Māori represent a key labour market opportunity.

Māori have a much younger age profile than Non-Māori in New Zealand. For example, in Northland there are more Māori under 15 than non-Māori, whereas non-Māori outnumber Māori by nearly five to one in the older age categories (55+).

Employers need to be conscious of the changing demographics and will increasingly need to look at the Māori population as a source of new labour market entrants.