New Zealand Unemployment Rate Drops To 3.2% In Q4

(RTTNews) - The jobless rate in New Zealand was a seasonally adjusted 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, Statistics New Zealand said on Wednesday.

That was shy of expectations for 3.4 percent, which would have been unchanged from the previous three months.

The employment change showed an increase of 0.1 percent on quarter. Missing forecasts for a gain of 0.3 percent after rising 2.0 percent in the third quarter.

For men, the unemployment rate was 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent last quarter. For women, the unemployment rate was 3.3 percent, down from 3.4 percent.

The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed people decreased by 5,000 to 93,000; 4,000 fewer men were unemployed and 1,000 fewer women were unemployed.

The participation rate was 71.1 percent, below expectations for 71.2 percent - which would have been unchanged.

For men, the labor force participation rate was 75.6 percent, compared with 75.7 percent last quarter. For women, the labor force participation rate was 66.6 percent, compared with 66.8 percent last quarter.

The seasonally adjusted underutilization rate remained at 9.2 percent this quarter. As with the previous quarter, this is an historically low rate, last matched in the December 2007 quarter.

For men, the underutilization rate was 7.4 percent, down from 7.7 percent. For women, the underutilization rate was 11.1 percent, up from 10.9 percent.

In the December 2021 quarter, the number of people who were underutilized remained almost level at to 277,000 (down 1,000); 4,000 fewer men were underutilized and 3,000 more women were underutilized.

The seasonally adjusted employment rate in the December 2021 quarter was 68.8 percent, the same as last quarter. For men, the employment rate was 73.3 percent, compared with 73.2 percent last quarter. For women, the employment rate was 64.5 percent, compared with 64.6 percent last quarter.

In the December 2021 quarter, 2,831,000 people were employed, being 3,000 more than in the September 2021 quarter; 5,000 more men were employed and 2,000 fewer women were employed.

The labor cost index (LCI) all salary and wage rates (including overtime) increased 2.6 percent in the year to the December 2021 quarter, while the unadjusted LCI increased 4.2 percent. Private sector wages increased by 2.8 percent over the year. Public sector wages increased by 2.3 percent over the year.