Unemployment rate rises to 6.8 percent

In seasonally adjusted terms, New Zealand’s unemployment rate rose to 6.8 percent during the December 2010 quarter as unemployment rose and employment fell, Statistics New Zealand said today. The unemployment rate was 6.4 percent in the September 2010 quarter and 7.0 percent a year ago.

“Results over the past twelve months indicate that the labour market has struggled to gain momentum following the recent economic downturn. However, while the December quarter results indicate a further deterioration in the labour market, key indicators are showing an improvement since this time last year, with lower unemployment and positive annual employment growth,” labour market statistics manager Peter Gardiner said.

Employment fell by 11,000 to 2,182,000 during the December 2010 quarter. Full-time employment increased, while part-time employment decreased. The number of males employed part-time fell sharply during the quarter. Despite the fall in employment, the change in the composition from part-time to full-time employment resulted in a rise in actual hours worked.

Unemployment rose by 8,000 to reach 158,000 during the quarter, marked by a 10,000 increase in male unemployment. Female unemployment decreased by 2,000 during the quarter.

During the quarter, the labour force participation rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 67.9 percent. This is the lowest participation rate since the March 2008 quarter. The number of people not in the labour force grew by 1.6 percent during the quarter, to reach 1,107,000.

The trend unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent during the quarter, from 6.5 percent in the September 2010 quarter.

The Household Labour Force Survey results are based on a representative sample of 15,000 households throughout New Zealand. The survey is designed to produce estimates of the numbers of people employed, unemployed, and not in the labour force.

Geoff Bascand
3 February 2011
Government Statistician