Nursery, Turf and Gardening
Workforce Demographics
Workforce dataset (size and demographics) 
Source: Stats NZ Integrated Data Infrastructure
Ethnicity
There has been an increasing trend in the percentage of Nursery, Turf and Gardening workers identifying as Māori, but overall, the ethnic composition is similar to the workforce across all of Muka Tangata industries. Compared to workers across all industries (national benchmark), the ethnic composition of the Nursery, Turf, and Gardening workforce in 2021 has a similar percentage of people who identify as Māori but a lower percentage of people identifying as Pacific peoples or Asian.
The ethnic composition of the workforce varies across the distinct industries within the Nursery, Turf and Gardening group. The Floriculture production and Under Cover Nursery Production workforces have a relatively high percentage of individuals identifying as Asian, while a higher proportion of those in Outdoor Nursery Production identify as Māori. The younger workers in Nursery, Turf and Gardening are far more likely to identify as either Māori or Pacific peoples.
Age
The average age of the Nursery, Turf, and Gardening workforce is higher than that of workers in all Muka Tangata industries (national benchmark), and the age distribution is slightly older compared to workers across Muka Tangata industries. Specifically, the Outdoor Floriculture Production workforce stands out as notably older, with the majority of workers aged 55 or older. In contrast, Nursery production has a higher proportion of younger workers.
Regional Distribution
Auckland and Canterbury are key regions across all Nursery, Turf and Gardening industries. A large segment of Under Cover Floriculture production workers are based in Southland. In addition to Auckland and Canterbury, the Waikato and Wellington also stand out as key regions for the Gardening services workforce. The Outdoor Nursery Production Workforce, on the other hand, is widely dispersed across regions, with a notable concentration in Gisborne.
Gender
In 2021, 35% of individuals in the Nursery, Turf and Gardening industry group were female. This falls below the national average (national benchmark) of 47% but aligns closely with the proportion of female workers across Muka Tangata industries (36%).
More than half of the Floriculture production and Nursery Production workforces were female, while the Gardening services industry, comprising the largest workforce in this industry grouping, had just under one-quarter of female workers.