News

New Zealand Jobless Rate Falls Below Forecasts
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate inched down to 5.3% in the March 2026 quarter, lower than both the previous quarter and market expectations of 5.4%. The latest reading declined from the highest jobless rate since the September 2015 quarter in Q4 of 2025, as the number of unemployed individuals fell by 2,000 from the prior quarter to 163,000. At the same time, employment increased by 4 thousand to 2.89 million during the quarter, bringing the employment rate to 66.7%, unchanged from Q4. The labour force participation rate also edged down to 70.4%, lower than both the previous quarter and market expectations of 70.5%, signaling a modest decline in workforce engagement. The underutilisation rate, a broader measure of spare labour, stood at 12.9%, well above the 12.4% level a year earlier. These figures pointed to mixed signals on labour market slack, suggesting a tentative improvement in overall conditions.
Published on 2026-05-05

New Zealand Jobless Rate Falls Below Forecasts
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate inched down to 5.3% in the March 2026 quarter, lower than both the previous quarter and market expectations of 5.4%. The latest reading declined from the highest jobless rate since the September 2015 quarter, as the number of unemployed individuals fell by 2,000 from the prior quarter to 163,000. At the same time, employment increased by 4 thousand to 2.89 million during the quarter, bringing the employment rate to 66.7%, unchanged from Q4.
Published on 2026-05-05

New Zealand Jobless Rate Falls Below Forecasts
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate inched down to 5.3% in the March 2026 quarter, lower than both the previous quarter and market expectations of 5.4%. The latest reading declined from the highest jobless rate since the September 2015 quarter, as the number of unemployed individuals fell by 2,000 from the prior quarter to 163,000. At the same time, employment increased by 4 thousand to 2.89 million during the quarter, bringing the employment rate to 66.7%, unchanged from Q4. The labour force participation rate also edged down to 70.4%, lower than both the previous quarter and market expectations of 70.5%, signaling a modest decline in workforce engagement.
Published on 2026-05-05

New Zealand Jobless Rate Falls Below Forecasts
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate inched down to 5.3% in the March 2026 quarter, lower than both the previous quarter and market expectations of 5.4%. The latest reading declined from the highest jobless rate since the September 2015 quarter, as the number of unemployed individuals fell by 2,000 from the prior quarter to 163,000. At the same time, employment increased by 4 thousand to 2.89 million during the quarter, bringing the employment rate to 66.7%, unchanged from Q4. The labour force participation rate also edged down to 70.4%, lower than both the previous quarter and market expectations of 70.5%, signaling a modest decline in workforce engagement. The underutilisation rate, a broader measure of spare labour, stood at 12.9%, well above the 12.4% level a year earlier.
Published on 2026-05-05

New Zealand Jobless Rate Falls Below Forecasts
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate inched down to 5.3% in the March 2026 quarter, lower than both the previous quarter and market expectations of 5.4%. The latest reading declined from the highest jobless rate since the September 2015 quarter, as the number of unemployed individuals fell by 2,000 from the prior quarter to 163,000. At the same time, employment increased by 4 thousand to 2.89 million during the quarter, bringing the employment rate to 66.7%, unchanged from Q4. The labour force participation rate also edged down to 70.4%, lower than both the previous quarter and market expectations of 70.5%, signaling a modest decline in workforce engagement. The underutilisation rate, a broader measure of spare labour, stood at 12.9%, well above the 12.4% level a year earlier. These figures pointed to mixed signals on labour market slack, suggesting a tentative improvement in overall conditions.
Published on 2026-05-05

New Zealand Jobless Rate Highest Since Q3 2015
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up to 5.4% in the December 2025 quarter, higher than both the previous quarter and market expectations of 5.3%. This was the highest jobless rate since the September 2015 quarter, as the number of unemployed individuals rose by 5,000 from the prior quarter to 165,000. At the same time, employment rose marginally during the quarter. The labour force participation rate also rose to 70.5% from 70.3%, signaling a modest increase in workforce engagement. The underutilisation rate, a broader measure of spare labour capacity, stood at 13.0% and was well above the 12.2% level a year earlier. These figures pointed to higher engagement in the labour market amid mixed signals on slack, suggesting a tentative improvement in conditions.
Published on 2026-02-03

New Zealand Jobless Rate Highest Since Q3 2015
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up to 5.4% in the December 2025 quarter from 5.3% in the previous period, matching market expectations. This was the highest jobless rate since the September 2015 quarter, as the number of unemployed individuals rose by 5,000 from the prior quarter to 165,000. At the same time, employment rose marginally during the quarter. The labour force participation rate also rose to 70.5% from 70.3%, signaling a modest increase in workforce engagement. The underutilisation rate, a broader measure of spare labour capacity, stood at 13.0% and was well above the 12.2% level a year earlier. These figures pointed to higher engagement in the labour market amid mixed signals on slack, suggesting a tentative improvement in conditions.
Published on 2026-02-03

New Zealand Jobless Rate Highest Since Q3 2015
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up to 5.4% in the December 2025 quarter, above both the previous reading and market expectations of 5.3%. This was the highest jobless rate since the September 2015 quarter, as the number of unemployed individuals rose by 5,000 from the prior quarter to 165,000. At the same time, employment rose marginally during the quarter. The labour force participation rate also rose to 70.5% from 70.3%, signaling a modest increase in workforce engagement. The underutilisation rate, a broader measure of spare labour capacity, stood at 13.0% and was well above the 12.2% level a year earlier. These figures pointed to higher engagement in the labour market amid mixed signals on slack, suggesting a tentative improvement in conditions.
Published on 2026-02-03

New Zealand Jobless Rate Highest Since Q3 2015
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up to 5.4% in the December 2025 quarter, higher than both the previous figure and market expectations of 5.3%. This was the highest jobless rate since the September 2015 quarter, as the number of unemployed individuals rose by 5,000 from the prior quarter to 165,000. At the same time, employment rose marginally during the quarter. The labour force participation rate also rose to 70.5% from 70.3%, signaling a modest increase in workforce engagement. The underutilisation rate, a broader measure of spare labour capacity, stood at 13.0% and was well above the 12.2% level a year earlier. These figures pointed to higher engagement in the labour market amid mixed signals on slack, suggesting a tentative improvement in conditions.
Published on 2026-02-03

New Zealand Jobless Rate Highest Since 2016
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up to 5.3% in the September 2025 quarter from 5.2% in the previous period, matching market expectations. This was the highest jobless rate since the fourth quarter of 2016, as the number of unemployed individuals rose by 2,000 from the prior quarter to 160,000. At the same time, employment growth stalled during the quarter. The labour force participation rate also fell to 70.3% from 70.5%, signaling a modest decline in workforce engagement. The underutilisation rate, a broader measure of spare labour capacity, ticked up to 12.9% from 12.8% and was well above the 11.7% level a year earlier. These figures pointed to rising slack in the labour market amid a softening economic momentum, underlining the need for further policy stimulus.
Published on 2025-11-04

New Zealand Jobless Rate Rises to 2016's High
New Zealand's unemployment rate edged up to 5.2% in the June quarter of 2025, slightly above the previous quarter's 5.1% and in line with market expectations to the highest level since late-2016. The number of unemployed individuals rose to 158,000, up from 156,000 in March and marking an annual increase of 16,000 people, or 11.1%. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate dipped to 70.5% from 70.7% in the previous quarter, indicating a slight contraction in workforce engagement. The underutilisation rate—a broader measure of spare labour capacity—also climbed to 12.8%, up from 12.4% in March and 11.9% a year earlier. These figures suggest growing slack in the labor market, adding pressure on policymakers as economic momentum continues to soften.
Published on 2025-11-04

New Zealand Jobless Rate Rises to 2016's High
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up to 5.3% in the September 2025 quarter from 5.2% in the previous period, matching market expectations. This was the highest jobless rate since the fourth quarter of 2016, as the number of unemployed individuals rose by 2,000 from the prior quarter to 160,000. At the same time, employment growth stalled during the quarter. The labour force participation rate also fell to 70.3% from 70.5%, signaling a modest decline in workforce engagement. The underutilisation rate, a broader measure of spare labour capacity, ticked up to 12.9% from 12.8% and was well above the 11.7% level a year earlier. These figures pointed to rising slack in the labour market amid a softening economic momentum, underlining the need for further policy stimulus.
Published on 2025-11-04

New Zealand Jobless Rate Rises to 5.2% in Q2
New Zealand's unemployment rate edged up to 5.2% in the June quarter of 2025, slightly above the previous quarter's 5.1% and in line with market expectations. The number of unemployed individuals rose to 158,000, up from 156,000 in March and marking an annual increase of 16,000 people, or 11.1%. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate dipped to 70.5% from 70.7% in the previous quarter, indicating a slight contraction in workforce engagement. The underutilisation rate—a broader measure of spare labour capacity—also climbed to 12.8%, up from 12.4% in March and 11.9% a year earlier. These figures suggest growing slack in the labor market, adding pressure on policymakers as economic momentum continues to soften.
Published on 2025-08-05

New Zealand Jobless Rate Rises to 5.2% in Q2
New Zealand's unemployment rate edged up to 5.2% in the June quarter of 2025, slightly above the previous quarter's 5.1% and in line with market expectations. The number of unemployed individuals rose to 158,000, up from 156,000 in March and marking an annual increase of 16,000 people, or 11.1%. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate dipped to 70.5% from 70.7% in the previous quarter, indicating a slight contraction in workforce engagement. The underutilisation rate—a broader measure of spare labour capacity—also climbed to 12.8%, up from 12.4% in March and 11.9% a year earlier. These figures suggest growing slack in the labor market, adding pressure on policymakers as economic momentum continues to soften.
Published on 2025-08-05

New Zealand Jobless Rate Holds at 5.1% in Q1
New Zealand's unemployment rate held steady at 5.1% in the March quarter of 2025, unchanged from the previous quarter and below market expectations of 5.3%. The number of unemployed individuals also remained consistent at 156,000, evenly split between 78,000 men and 78,000 women. The seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate dipped slightly to 70.8 percent, down from 70.9 percent last quarter. Meanwhile, the underutilisation rate edged up to 12.3 percent, compared with 12.1 percent in the prior quarter.
Published on 2025-05-06

New Zealand Jobless Rate Rises to 2020's High
New Zealand's unemployment rate rose to 5.1% in the December quarter of 2024, up from 4.8% in the previous period, matching market expectations and marking the highest level since September 2020. The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed individuals increased by 7,000 to 156,000. Despite this, the country's labour force participation rate edged lower to 71% from 71.1%. Meanwhile, the underutilisation rate rose slightly to 12.1%, compared with 11.6 percent last quarter, indicating a modest increase in the proportion of people either unemployed or underemployed.
Published on 2025-02-04

Kiwi Jobless Rate Rises to 2020's High in Q3
New Zealand's unemployment rate rose to 4.8% in the September quarter of 2024, up from 4.6% in the previous period and reaching its highest level since the December quarter of 2020. This figure was below market expectations of 5%. The underutilization rate stood at 11.6% in September, down from 11.8% in June 2024. On an annual basis, the number of unemployed individuals increased by 24.2%, totaling 144,900 (not seasonally adjusted). The seasonally adjusted labor force participation rate for the September quarter was 71.2%, reflecting a decline of 0.5 percentage points from the previous quarter and 0.8 percentage points from the previous year.
Published on 2024-11-05

New Zealand Jobless Rate Rises to Over 3-Year High in Q2
The unemployment rate in New Zealand picked up to 4.6% in the three months to June of 2024, following an upwardly revised 4.4% in the previous quarter. It marked the highest figure since the first quarter of 2021 and slightly below market expectations of 4.7%. The underutilisation rate, which is a broader measure of spare labor capacity than unemployment alone,rose to 11.8% from 11.2% in the prior quarter. The seasonally adjusted labor force participation rate, which includes both employed and unemployed individuals, stood at 71.7%, compared to 71.6% in the previous quarter.
Published on 2024-08-06

New Zealand Jobless Rate Increases to 3-Year High in Q1
The unemployment rate in New Zealand was recorded at 4.3% in March quarter of 2024, the highest reading since first quarter of 2021, up from 4% in the prior period and beating market estimates of 4.2%. The underutilisation rate, which is a broader measure of spare labor capacity than unemployment alone, rose to 11.2%, up from 10.7%. in the previous quarter. The seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate fell to 71.5%, down from 71.9% last quarter. The number of people who were not in the labour force (NILF) increased to 1,224,000 in the three months to March 2024, up 22,000 over the quarter and 61,000 over the year.
Published on 2024-04-30

New Zealand Jobless Rate Rises to 4% in Q4
The unemployment rate in New Zealand rose to 4% in the three months to December of 2023, maintaining the highest level since June quarter of 2021, compared to 3.9% in the prior quarter and slightly below market expectations of 4.2%. The underutilisation rate, which is a broader measure of spare labour capacity than unemployment alone, was 10.7% in the December 2023 quarter. This compared with 10.4% in the previous quarter and 9.3% in the December 2022 quarter. Meantime, the labor force participation rate edged down to 71.9% from 72% in the previous quarter.
Published on 2024-02-06