New Zealand’s jobless rate falls slightly to 5.1 pct in Q2

New Zealand’s jobless rate dropped to 5.1 percent in the second quarter of 2016 from first quarter’s 5.2 percent, according to Statistics New Zealand. There were 1000 fewer people jobless in New Zealand in the second quarter from the first quarter. The unemployment rate also fell on year-on-year basis.

“Compared with June 2015, there were 8,000 fewer unemployed women, and their unemployment rate fell from 6.2 percent to 5.4 percent”, said Statistics New Zealand labour and income statistics manager Mark Gordon.

Region wise, in unadjusted terms, unemployment dropped throughout several North Island regions from a year ago. Auckland registered a jobless rate of 4.7 percent in the second quarter, the lowest for the region since September 2008.

According to the second quarter data, 66.2 percent of working-age population were employed. As compared with the first quarter, additional 58,000 people were employed, up 2.4 percent. But part of the rise shows improvements to the redeveloped HLFS (Household Labour Force Survey), along with any real-world rise in employment in the second quarter.

“The redeveloped HLFS presents a more-accurate and complete picture of the New Zealand labour market. The latest estimates are more in line with the current state of the labour force. However, comparisons with previous estimates will not always be straightforward and should be made with caution,” Gordon added.

A reasonable overall signal from the second quarter HLFS was expected, with strong labor demand growth being widely matched by equally strong labor supply growth, keeping the jobless rate largely unchanged, said ANZ in a research report. The New Zealand labor market is in a sound shape and the jobless rate is trending lower. Spare capacity is also being absorbed, albeit slowly, and is contributing to modest wage growth, added ANZ.