NZ unemployment rises to 5.2%

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By Leith van Onselen

Statistics New Zealand has this morning released its labour force data for the December quarter, with the unemployment rate rising to 5.2% from 4.9% on the back of more workers looking for jobs (thanks in part to record immigration). The key changes are outlined in the below table:

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As shown above, employment rose 0.8% in the December quarter to be up 5.8% over the year, whereas the unemployment rate rose to 5.2%, helped by a 0.4% quarterly rise in the labour force participation rate (up 2.2% over the year).

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.