Young Kiwis flee to Australia

Friday 29 August 2025

The latest official labour force survey showed that New Zealand’s unemployment rate lifted to 5.2% in Q2 2025, the highest rate since Q4 2016.

New Zealand’s underutilisation rate, which combines unemployment and underemployment, also surged, indicating a significant surplus capacity in the labour market.

On Thursday, Statistics New Zealand released its filled jobs survey, which rose by 0.2% in July, stronger than expected.

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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.