New Zealand's Unemployment Hits 4 Percent
The unemployment rate rose 0.6 percentage points over the year, up from 3.4 percent in the December 2022 quarter, the Stats NZ said.
"Unemployment rates have returned to 2019 levels, following recent historic lows," said Becky Collett, Stats NZ work and wellbeing statistics senior manager.
Low unemployment formed part of the unique economic period from 2021 to 2022, as restricted borders limited increases to labor supply and labor demand remained high, Collett said.
The underutilization rate, which is a broader measure of spare labor capacity than unemployment alone, was 10.7 percent in the December 2023 quarter. This compared with 10.4 percent in the previous quarter and 9.3 percent in the December 2022 quarter, the Stats NZ said.
The number of underutilized people increased 12,000 over the quarter and 52,000 over the year, the statistics showed. Underemployment, unemployment, and the potential labor force are the main components of underutilization.
In the December 2023 quarter, underemployment accounted for the majority of the increase in underutilization, with 8,000 more people underemployed than in the September 2023 quarter.
New Zealand's working-age population rose 3 percent over the year to the December 2023 quarter, reaching 4.3 million, the largest since 1986, Collett said, adding that the growth was driven by net migration.
Compared with the December 2022 quarter, the working-age population who were born overseas increased 132,900, he said.
While the employment rate remained historically high in the December 2023 quarter, it has dropped back from the recent June 2023 quarter peak of 69.8 percent to 69 percent, Collett said, adding that the employment rate decreased over the past six months as the working-age population grew faster than employment, meaning the proportion of people who were employed declined.
New Zealand's salary and wage rates increased 4.3 percent in the year to the December 2023 quarter, which was the same annual percentage change recorded for the previous three 2023 quarters, the Stats NZ said.
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