New Zealand Jobless Rate Falls Below Forecasts

2026-05-05 22:51 By Chusnul Chotimah 1 min. read

New Zealand's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate inched down to 5.3% in the March 2026 quarter, lower than both the previous quarter and market expectations of 5.4%.

The latest reading declined from the highest jobless rate since the September 2015 quarter in Q4 of 2025, as the number of unemployed individuals fell by 2,000 from the prior quarter to 163,000.

At the same time, employment increased by 4 thousand to 2.89 million during the quarter, bringing the employment rate to 66.7%, unchanged from Q4.

The labour force participation rate also edged down to 70.4%, lower than both the previous quarter and market expectations of 70.5%, signaling a modest decline in workforce engagement.

The underutilisation rate, a broader measure of spare labour, stood at 12.9%, well above the 12.4% level a year earlier.

These figures pointed to mixed signals on labour market slack, suggesting a tentative improvement in overall conditions.



News Stream
New Zealand Jobless Rate Falls Below Forecasts
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate inched down to 5.3% in the March 2026 quarter, lower than both the previous quarter and market expectations of 5.4%. The latest reading declined from the highest jobless rate since the September 2015 quarter in Q4 of 2025, as the number of unemployed individuals fell by 2,000 from the prior quarter to 163,000. At the same time, employment increased by 4 thousand to 2.89 million during the quarter, bringing the employment rate to 66.7%, unchanged from Q4. The labour force participation rate also edged down to 70.4%, lower than both the previous quarter and market expectations of 70.5%, signaling a modest decline in workforce engagement. The underutilisation rate, a broader measure of spare labour, stood at 12.9%, well above the 12.4% level a year earlier. These figures pointed to mixed signals on labour market slack, suggesting a tentative improvement in overall conditions.
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