Archive | Labour statistics

Published 5 February 2010

Statistics New Zealand said yesterday the unemployment hit its highest level since the June 1999 quarter, reaching 7.3% (seasonally adjusted) in the December quarter. Unadjusted, the unemployment rate was 6.8% in the December quarter, up from 6.3% in September, 5.8% in June, 4.4% in December 2008.

Statistics NZ said the increases in unemployment & the unemployment rate were mainly due to a rise in the number of people entering the labour force but unable to find work.

Government Statistician Geoff Bascand said the increase in unemployment during the past year was particularly marked among youth (15-24-year-olds), with the unemployment rate for this group rising 6.4 percentage points to reach 18.4%. There were also marked differences in the unemployment rates by ethnic group. The unemployment rate remained high for the Maori (15.4%), Pacific peoples (14%) and Middle Eastern, Latin American &African (17.1%) ethnic groups, while the unemployment rate for the European ethnic group stood at 4.6%.

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Attribution: Statistics NZ release & tables, story written by Bob Dey for the Bob Dey Property Report.

Published 7 August 2009

New Zealand’s unemployment level is up 53% from a year ago, Statistics NZ’s household labour force survey for the June quarter (out yesterday) & quarterly employment survey (out Tuesday) show.

The employment survey showed fulltime-equivalent employees down 3.2% from a year ago to 1.36 million employees. Average total hourly earnings in the private sector were up 3.7% to $23.29/hour, and in the public sector were up 5.8% to $31.89.

The male unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.6% but the female rate was up from 5.6% in the March quarter to 6.1%. The combined rate rose from 5.6% in March to 5.8% in June, compared to an unemployment rate of 3.9% a year ago.

The survey shows unemployment in the Auckland region up from 6.5% in March to 6.6%, compared to 4.3% a year ago.

The labour force participation rate was down slightly, from 75% in the March quarter to 74.8%. A year ago it was 74.9%.

The number of unemployed was up by 46,000 (52.6%), from 87,500 to 133,500.

These figures are actual, not seasonally adjusted.

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Attribution: Statistics NZ tables, story written by Bob Dey for the Bob Dey Property Report.

Published: 11 August 2005

Unemployment fell 6 percentage points to 3.6% (actual, not seasonally adjusted) in the June quarter after rising 7 points in the March quarter.

The labour force participation rate, after being below 67% for most of last year, climbed to 68.3% iM the December quarter but has since fallen to 67.9% in March then 67.2% in June.

In the Auckland region, the unemployment rate fell 8 points to 3.4%. It was down at this level in September 2003 and got down to 3.3% in the December 2004 quarter.

Statistics NZ said the seasonally adjusted rate fell 2 points to 3.7% in June: “The seasonally adjusted household labour force survey results for the June quarter show a continuation of the tight labour market conditions experienced at the end of 2004. The number of people employed rose and unemployment decreased, resulting in a reduction of 0.2 of a percentage point in the unemployment rate to 3.7%. New Zealand now has the lowest unemployment rate within the group of OECD countries that have standardised unemployment rates.

“While both male & female employment rose, most of the overall movement was due to an increase in female employment, which was driven by a rise in female full-time employment. The increase in total full-time employment is reflected in the 2.9% increase in actual hours worked. There was very little movement in part-time employment levels.

“The working-age population increased by 8400 (0.3%) but growth continues to slow, both on a quarterly & an annual basis. This is reinforced by a slowing in net gains from permanent & long-term migration. The total labour force also grew by 0.3% while the number of people not in the labour force increased by 0.1%. This resulted in a slight increase (0.1 of a percentage point) in the labour force participation rate to 67.7% which, with the December 2004 quarter, is the equal highest rate recorded.

“In summary, the gradual slowing of growth in the working-age population, combined with the continuing growth in employment, indicates a further reduction in the capacity of the labour market to meet employers’ demand for labour. Meanwhile, employment is at the highest level recorded by the survey and the unemployment rate is the 2nd lowest rate recorded.”

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Unemployment dropped from 4.5% in the first quarter of 2004 to 4% in the June quarter. A year ago it was 4.6%, and in the September 2002 quarter it was 5.3%.

In 2 years, the actual number of unemployed has fallen by 20,000 – from 101,100 in June 2002 (rising to 106,700 in the March 2003 quarter), down to 81,900 in the June 2004 quarter.

Statistics NZ’s household labour force survey also showed, however, that the labour force participation rate was slightly below the average of the past 2 years, at 66.3%. It’s been at that rate for 3 out of the past 9 quarters. The participation rate has swung between 65.9-70% over that period, with an average 66.5%.

The participation rate is the number of people employed out of the working age (15 & over) population.

In the Auckland region, the unemployment rate fell from 4.4% in the March quarter to 3.7% in the June quarter. It was up at 5.1% in the June 2002 quarter, dropping to 3.4% in the September quarter last year before climbing up over the next 6 months.

The Auckland labour force participation rate in the latest period was 66.4%, down on the previous 2 quarters but 1.5 points above June 2003. It’s ranged between 64.9-66.9% over the 9 quarters.

Auckland unemployment was up at 31,700 in June 2002, got down to 21,000 in the September 2003 quarter, climbed over the next 6 months then slipped back to 23,700 in the latest period.

Website: Statistics NZ

Labour market conditions tightened in the March quarter – the number of employed grew 0.9%, total hours worked rose 1.6% & the unemployment rate fell to 4.6%.

The unemployment rate was the 4th lowest in the OECD, above Korea, Luxembourg & Switzerland.

Statistics NZ’s March quarter household labour force survey showed the number of employed rose 61,000 to 1.959 million from the March 2003 quarter while the number of unemployed fell 12,000 to 93,500.

The labour force participation rate was up from 66.5% to 66.9%. Unemployment, 5.3% a year ago, fell to 4.3% in the September quarter then rose to 4.5% in the December quarter & 4.6% in March.

The figures & percentages above are not seasonally adjusted.