10,380 individuals worked in the Grapes and Wine industries (Grape Growing and Wine and other alcoholic beverage manufacturing) across 2021, with only 12% being either self-employed or working as an employer. Around two thirds of the workforce in the Grapes and Wine industries work in Wine and Other Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturing, and the remaining third in Grape Growing.
Overall, the Grapes and Wine industry group has the lowest proportion of workers being either self-employed or working as an employer compared to industries across Muka Tangata. Nearly all workers in Wine and Other Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturing work as employees. Around one quarter of those working in the Grape Growing industry are employers or self-employed. There has been a slight downward trend in the number of employees between 2017 and 2022, particularly within the Grape Growing Industry.
Monthly count of employees peaks between December and March and is lowest around August-September. The Grapes and Wine industry group workforce is not as ethnically diverse as other workforces across Muka Tangata industries and the percentage of workers identifying as Māori has decreased over time. People aged between 25-34 make up a relatively large and increasing segment of the workforce.
There are seasonal cycles in employee counts, but there are slight differences in the seasonal patterns for Grape Growing and Wine and Other Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturing. For both industries the count of employees per month is usually lowest around August-September. For Grape Growing the employee count is highest from December through to March, whereas for Wine and Other Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturing there is a sharper peak in March following grape harvesting.