This is the second report that uses the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal survey data to explore how the inability to access affordable childcare affects the long run labour market outcomes of mothers.

This report investigates the persistence of mothers’ difficulties accessing affordable childcare.

  • Issues with childcare persist for 20 percent of mothers at 9 months and only 43 percent are clearly resolved (indicated by the child being in childcare). 
  • Māori and Pacific peoples face modestly more persistent issues than Europeans, which, when combined with higher rates of access issues at 9 months, make them 3 to 4 times as likely to experience long-term access issues. 
  • In general, the results show more disadvantaged mothers, who were found in the first report to have higher rates of issues with access to childcare, also have more persistent issues with access to childcare. This is particularly true for mothers from low-income households. 

Read the other reports in this series: