New Zealand’s unemployment rate rose to 5.3% in the September quarter as the working age population grew 0.3% while no new jobs were created.
There were 160,000 people looking for work during the three month period and 22,700, or 14.5%, of them had been searching for more than a year.
Youth unemployment rose to 15.9% and the NEET rate, the rate of young people aged 15–24 not in employment, education, or training, was at 13.8%.
Jason Attewell, a spokesperson for Statistics NZ, said unemployment had been above 5% for the past five quarters and the underutilisation rate had risen to 12.9%, a record 406,000 people.
This includes 138,000 part-time workers who want more hours. Attewell said around two-thirds of these people were women, as they are more likely to work part-time.
Hours worked had been falling steadily for almost two years but the pattern broke this quarter, with seasonally adjusted hours up 0.9%.
In a note prior to the data release, ANZ economists said hours worked had contracted much more sharply than actual employment which suggested firms were “holding onto staff despite subdued demand for goods and services”.
An uptick in hours could be a sign the labour market is beginning to improve, even as the headline unemployment rate ticks higher due to population growth.
BNZ economists said employment intentions were positive and job ads on Seek had turned upwards, but it was too soon for these indicators to show up in Stats NZ’s September surveys.
The labour market has been weakening since the Reserve Bank began hiking interest rates in late 2021 to combat inflation. Rates have since been cut, but employment tends to lag economic cycles as hiring and firing is done largely in response to changes in demand or earnings.
Economists and the Reserve Bank widely expected the rate to rise to 5.3% in September, up from 5.2% in the previous quarter and a low of 3.2% in late 2021.
Wage growth was moderated by the lack of jobs. Same job pay rose 2.1% while average hourly earnings, which includes job changes, was up 3.9% at $43.60.
7 Comments
It's a really tough time to be looking for work, for adults and teenagers at high school wanting part time....
Feels like NAct will have to try something before elections
They have 12 months. Things seem to be gravitating towards an equilibrium that has much of our indicators looking like it's 2021 and COVID never happened.
So unemployment probably hovering somewhere in the mid 4s later next year, all on its own.
Why is it a really tough time to find work, when unemployment is as low as 5.3%, which is really not high historically. My 20 y.o. daughter found a job easily.
People have forgotten the the early 1990s when it was double what it is now. all relative a suppose.
Different world in many ways, not least of which the percentage engaged in tertiary education, the rise of the labour hire companies during the 1990s and the changes to the HLFS over the years have all made comparisons difficult.
i do not believe that 600 people really desire work at WGTN mini putt long term
It is. I'm thankful to have a job. But mobility sucks at the moment. I'd greatly prefer to move but it seems unlikely for a while so will have to battle it out .
If the economy ever does pick up then the recruiters will be rolling in it
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