Rise in unemployment surprises
Large growth in job numbers in Auckland fails to offset nationwide drop.
Unemployment figures defied predictions and rose in the last quarter.
Large growth in job numbers in Auckland fails to offset nationwide drop.
The latest household labour force survey figures, out this morning, show a 0.1% rise in the unemployment rate to 6.6% of the workforce.
The number of people in jobs actually rose by 5000, or 0.2%, but the number of people unemployed rose further, said industry and labour statistics manager Diane Ramsey. Total hours worked also rose, by 1%, over the quarter.
Unemployment was expected to drop this most recent quarter, although not by much: the median forecast among economists was for a drop to 6.4% of the workforce, with a rise in the number employed by 0.4%.
Some of the reason for the change is Canterbury-related: the numbers of people employed in the Canterbury region has fallen by 8% while the national employment market has shown an increase of 1.1%.
The Auckland region shows significant rises in the numbers in employment: the number of people in employment rose 9.1%, or 58,900 people, in the Auckland region.
The vexed area of youth unemployment showed a significant improvement but it remains high: the percentage of 15-19 year olds unemployed fell from 27.6% to 23.4%.
Rob Hosking
Thu, 03 Nov 2011
Thu, 03 Nov 2011
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Rise in unemployment surprises
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