2021.02.0221:17:00UTC+00New Zealand Unemployment Rate Falls To 4.9% In Q4

The jobless rate in New Zealand fell to 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, Statistics New Zealand said on Wednesday.

That was beneath expectations for 5.6 percent and down from 5.3 percent in the three months prior.

The employment change showed a 0.6 percent increase, exceeding forecasts for a flat reading following the 0.8 percent decline in the previous three months.

The participation rate came in at 70.2 percent - in line with expectations and up from 70.1 percent in the third quarter.

For men, the unemployment rate was 4.5 percent, down from 4.8 percent last quarter. For women, the unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, down from 5.8 percent.

The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed people fell to 141,000 (down 10,000) since the September 2020 quarter as 5,000 fewer men were unemployed and 5,000 fewer women were unemployed.

In the year to the December 2020 quarter, there were 25,000 more unemployed people as 11,000 more men were unemployed and 15,000 more women were unemployed.

The seasonally adjusted underutilization rate in the December 2020 quarter fell to 11.9 percent, down from 13.2 percent in the September 2020 quarter. For men, the underutilization rate fell to 9.7 percent, down from 10.5 percent and for women, the underutilization rate fell to 14.3 percent, down from 16.1 percent.

In the December 2020 quarter, the number of people who were underutilized fell to 352,000 (down 39,000) as 14,000 fewer men were underutilized and 25,000 fewer women were underutilized.

The seasonally adjusted employment rate in the December 2020 quarter rose to 66.8 percent, up from 66.4 percent in the previous quarter. For men, the employment rate rose to 72.1 percent, up from 71.8 percent last quarter. For women, the employment rate rose to 61.7 percent, up from 61.2 percent last quarter.

In the December 2020 quarter, there were 17,000 more employed people, up to 2,734,000 as 7,000 more men were employed and 10,000 more women were employed.

In the year to the December 2020 quarter, there were 19,000 more employed people as 16,000 more men were employed and 2,000 more women were employed.