Unemployment up more than expected
Unemployment rose 0.4% to 6.8% of the workforce in the December quarter.
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Unemployment rose 0.4% to 6.8% of the workforce in the December quarter according to the household labour force survey released today by Statistics New Zealand.
A small increase was expected but the consensus forecast was only for a rise of 0.1% from the 6.4% of the September quarter.
Unemployment last peaked at 7.1% of the workforce in March last year
The number of hours worked actually rose, by 0.2%, suggesting the rise in jobless numbers is not due to a drop in economic activity.
Secondly, the size of the workforce grew by more than the actual rise in the numbers unemployed.
The size of the labour market grew in actual terms by 12,800 people. The actual numbers unemployed rose by 8,000.
Rob Hosking
Thu, 03 Feb 2011
Thu, 03 Feb 2011
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Unemployment up more than expected
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