New Zealand's unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2020 from 4.0 percent in the previous period but below market expectations of 4.3 percent. It was the highest jobless rate since the last quarter of 2018, amid the coronavirus crisis as the number of unemployed people increased by 5 thousand to 116 thousand. The unemployment rate for men went up to 4.1 percent from 3.8 percent in the prior quarter, while for women was unchanged at 4.3 percent. Meantime, the underutilisation rate jumped to 10.4 percent from an 11-year low of 10 percent in the December 2019 quarter; and the labour force participation rate increased to 70.4 percent from 70.1 percent.

Unemployment Rate in New Zealand averaged 5.95 percent from 1985 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 11.20 percent in the third quarter of 1991 and a record low of 3.30 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007. This page provides - New Zealand Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. New Zealand Unemployment Rate - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on June of 2020. source: Statistics New Zealand

Unemployment Rate in New Zealand is expected to be 8.00 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Unemployment Rate in New Zealand to stand at 8.50 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the New Zealand Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 7.50 percent in 2021 and 5.80 percent in 2022, according to our econometric models.

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New Zealand Unemployment Rate

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
4.20 4.00 11.20 3.30 1985 - 2020 percent Quarterly


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2019-08-05 10:45 PM Q2 3.9% 4.2% 4.3% 4.2%
2019-11-05 09:45 PM Q3 4.2% 3.9% 4.1% 4%
2020-02-04 09:45 PM Q4 4% 4.2% 4.2% 4.1%
2020-05-05 10:45 PM Q1 4.2% 4% 4.3% 4.6%
2020-08-05 10:45 PM Q2 4.2% 8%
2020-11-05 09:45 PM Q3 9.5%
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
New Zealand Jobless Rate Rises to Over 1-Year High of 4.2%
New Zealand's unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2020 from 4.0 percent in the previous period but below market expectations of 4.3 percent. It was the highest jobless rate since the last quarter of 2018, amid the coronavirus crisis as the number of unemployed people increased by 5 thousand to 116 thousand. The unemployment rate for men went up to 4.1 percent from 3.8 percent in the prior quarter, while for women was unchanged at 4.3 percent. Meantime, the underutilisation rate jumped to 10.4 percent from an 11-year low of 10 percent in the December 2019 quarter; and the labour force participation rate increased to 70.4 percent from 70.1 percent.
2020-05-05
New Zealand Jobless Rate Falls to 4% in Q4
New Zealand's unemployment rate fell to 4 percent in the last quarter of 2019 from 4.2 percent in the previous period and below market expectations of 4.2 percent. The number of unemployed people dropped by 3 thousand to 111 thousand, driven by 3,000 fewer unemployed women. The jobless rate for women declined to 4.3 percent from 4.5 percent in the prior period; while for men was steady at 3.8 percent. Meantime, the underutilisation rate went down to 10 percent from 10.4 percent in the third quarter, its lowest level since the June 2008 quarter; and the labour force participation rate decreased to 70.1 percent from 70.4 percent.
2020-02-05
New Zealand Jobless Rate Rises to 4.2% in Q3
New Zealand's unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent in the third quarter of 2019 from an 11-year low of 3.9 percent in the previous period, and above market expectations of 4.1 percent.
2019-11-05
New Zealand Jobless Rate Falls to 11-Year Low
New Zealand's unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent in the second quarter of 2019 from 4.2 percent in the previous period, compared to market expectations of 4.3 percent. That was the lowest jobless rate since the second quarter of 2008, when it was 3.8 percent.
2019-08-05

New Zealand Unemployment Rate
In New Zealand, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force.