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 15.2% 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.
13 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
Unemployment seems to be flattening. I would say the number on ACC is rising.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/564516/acc-supported-160-000-people…
ACC's stats are wildly dominated by the huge increase in claims for the elderly.
What is the source of your information?
I’m not sure of your definition of elderly. However if it is those over 65 then most will be only on superannuation (75% of the cohort) and they do not qualify for ACC payments for loss of income.
If they're still working and have an accident then they are for a period of time I believe
Interesting
Your comment is not clear as to what you are referring to.
There is no period of time that ACC will payout for loss of superannuation. Unlike income from work, income from Superannuation is not subject to ACC deductions, superannuation payments continue when incapacitated, and therefore ACC do not make any payment in such situations.
The original comment was regarding employment. Yes, ACC will payout on loss of income for the 24% who have loss of income for their additional work income (they will not lose superannuation so not be reimbursed by ACC). The 24% of 65+ workers seems comparatively a small cohort of 65+ compared to the wider population of workers to create huge increases to dominate ACC stats.
My query reamains as to the source of Pla1ters assertion "ACC's stats are wildly dominated by the huge increase in claims for the elderly."
Apologies, I've edited my previous post. If 65+ and still working there is still a loss of income through injury preventing work so I believe this can still be compensated. There isn't a need to compensate for superannuation as it is a benefit and paid irrespective if one is working, injured or healthy so I don;t uite understand that prt of your comment as such.
As for increase in claims for the elderly, it would make sense given the population bulge of baby boomers. Consider also that the more public surgeries needed for this group, the greater incidence of things going wrong from some of them (no surgery is guaranteed to help, there are always risks), and hence a likely increase in medical misadventure claims. It would also be logical to deduce with a greater level of complexity with older folk making claims (greater prevalence of underlying health conditions etc), deducing what is an injury issue becomes more opaque, time-consuming and costly.
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