Valuing access to work: the 2025 update
This report was prepared by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) for Whaikaha. It updates research first done in 2017 on the potential economic benefits of improving employment and education outcomes for disabled people.
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Alternate formats
Alternate formats of the executive summary will be available shortly.
Executive summary
About this report
In 2017, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) undertook research on how New Zealand’s economy could benefit if disabled people had better access to work and education.
In 2025, Whaikaha asked NZIER to update its research. This document summarises NZIER’s findings.
The 2025 update ‘Valuing access to work’ uses the latest employment data and NZIER’s economic model to estimate:
- What happens if disabled people have the same unemployment rate as non-disabled people?
- What happens if disabled people have better educational outcomes that help increase productivity at work?
The findings show that improving outcomes for disabled people would deliver major economic and social benefits for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Current situation
Disabled people still face large gaps in employment and education compared with non-disabled people:
- Labour force participation: 26.8% for disabled people vs 72.9% for non-disabled people
- Employment rate: 23.4% for disabled people vs 69.3% for non-disabled people
- Unemployment rate: 12.6% for disabled people vs 4.9% for non-disabled people
- Disabled people experience much higher underutilisation – wanting more work hours, wanting to work but unable to job‑seek, or being available to work but facing barriers.
- No qualifications: 32% for disabled people vs 13% for non-disabled people.
These gaps reflect long‑standing barriers such as discrimination, inaccessible workplaces, limited employer flexibility, and unequal access to education and training.
What NZIER modelled
NZIER tested two situations using its economic model:
Scenario 1 – Equal unemployment rates
What if disabled people searching for work had the same unemployment rate as non-disabled people?
Scenario 2 – Improved education
What if disabled people were able to gain higher qualifications, leading to a 2% increase in productivity for those already in work?
These scenarios do not assume all disabled people can or should enter the workforce. They focus on improving opportunities for disabled people who want to work and disabled people who would benefit from further education.
Key findings
Reducing unemployment would increase GDP by $578 million
If disabled people had the same unemployment rate as non-disabled people, New Zealand’s economy would have been $578 million bigger in 2025.
Broader findings
- More disabled people would earn an income and contribute skills employers need.
- Household incomes would rise, helping reduce poverty and hardship.
- Government would spend less on long-term welfare and receive more tax revenue.
- Skill shortages would reduce because more people are available to work.
- New Zealand would make better use of the talents of disabled people, rather than losing this potential to unemployment.
This scenario shows the high cost of ongoing barriers preventing disabled people from getting jobs.
Improving education would increase GDP by $132 million
Lifting educational outcomes for disabled people – leading to a 2% productivity increase – would have added $132 million to GDP in 2025.
Broader findings
- Disabled people would have better access to higher-skilled, better-paid, and more secure jobs.
- People with higher qualifications earn more over their lifetime and are less likely to rely on welfare.
- Education increases confidence, independence, and opportunities for participation in community life.
- Better education improves health literacy, mental wellbeing, and long-term health.
- Tertiary education has positive “flow-on” effects for whānau, communities, and the wider economy.
Education is one of the strongest drivers of better employment outcomes.
Why these changes matter
Improving access to work and education for disabled people would have wide benefits, including:
- Better mental wellbeing: Feeling valued, connected, and able to contribute.
- Financial independence: Higher earnings and reduced risk of poverty.
- More inclusive communities: Education and employment build relationships and confidence.
- Improved health: Education supports better health literacy and long-term outcomes.
These benefits strengthen not just individuals, but whānau, communities, and New Zealand as a whole.
What this means for policy
The report highlights several areas where changes could make a big difference:
- Better coordination between education, health, and employment services
- More support for employers to hire and retain disabled people
- Investment in assistive technology
- Accessible workplaces, transport, and digital systems
- More inclusive and flexible work options, including remote and hybrid work
- Stronger focus on addressing discrimination and raising employer capability
Meaningful, long-term change requires coordinated effort across government and employers.
Where further research is needed
More evidence would help target investment effectively. The report recommends further research on:
- Which industries and regions would benefit most
- Disabled people’s long-term employment pathways
- The costs and benefits of specific inclusion initiatives
- Employer attitudes and hiring practices
- Access to remote and hybrid work in New Zealand
- Barriers faced by disabled people who also experience other disadvantages
- The long-term effects of inclusive early education
Overall conclusion
Aotearoa New Zealand has a major opportunity to improve outcomes for disabled people while strengthening the economy.
Removing barriers to education and employment could unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in economic value each year. It would also:
- improve financial security
- reduce inequality
- increase social inclusion
- support whānau
- strengthen communities
- build a more productive and resilient economy
Improving access to work and education is not just the fair thing to do – it is a smart investment in the future of Aotearoa.