(GMA 7) - Filipinos rank 4th among the largest Asian groups in New Zealand, according to New Zealand's 2006 Culture and Identity Report.
The Chinese group is biggest with 147,570 people, followed by the Indians with 104,583, the Koreans with 30,792, and Filipinos with 16,938.
There are 354,552 Asians in New Zealand accounting for 9.2% of the national population, which now stands at 4,181,060, the latest census report said.
Although Asians remain the third largest group in the country, next only to Europeans and Maoris (New Zealand's native people of Polynesian descent), their populations grow fastest —that is from 238,176 in 2001 to 354,552 in 2006.
Filipinos expect their number would keep swelling as many are coming to find a home in this country known as the "Land of the Long White Cloud."
Victor, 40, a certified public accountant from Cebu, who arrived January of 2006, expects to get a permanent resident (PR) visa status next month. He said once he gets his PR, his wife and three kids in Cebu will join him soon.
Victor works as an accounting staff at the New Zealand Post, the country's postal services agency.
Highly skilled and professional Filipinos who migrated in last five years had hard time hunting for a job.
"If you are a nurse or an IT specialist or an accountant you can easily find a job that fits your credentials. Otherwise, you end up doing menial or manual jobs, regardless of credentials you have," said Vivian, 36, former sales executive and a graduate from a premier university in Manila.
She said she first worked as a factory worker for a year in Auckland before moving to the capital city Wellington, where she works as a clerk in a government office.
The two Filipinos have observed the growing diversity in New Zealand's population and culture, especially with the increase of the number of Asians.
They said this diversity in ethnic origins creates a pool of talented and skilled workers that New Zealand employers may wish take advantage of. – GMANews.TV
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