Unemployed Kiwis at 15-year high 

Source: ONE News

The number of unemployed people in New Zealand has climbed to a 15-year high, according to Statistics New Zealand's Household Labour Force Survey.

The number of unemployed rose by 12,000 people (9%) to 150,000 during the September quarter, the highest it has been since March 1994.

Statistics New Zealand says the increase was mostly driven by male unemployment, which rose by 9,000 to 80,000, while the number unemployed females rose 3,000 to 71,000.

Annually, the number of people unemployed increased by over 50% (by 53,000) which Statistics New Zealand says is the largest annual percentage increase on record.

Setting a fresh nine-year high, the unemployment rate climbed to 6.5%, up from 6% in the June quarter and 4.3% in the September 2008 quarter.  This was slightly higher than general market expectations of 6.4%.

Teenagers and those in their early twenties saw the largest annual increases in unemployment, with numbers up 13,200 and 7,300 respectively.

Meanwhile, the working-age population grew by 11,800 people (0.3%) to 3,384,000 during the September quarter, partly due to a net gain from permanent and long-term migration.

The number of people in employment dropped by 17,000 (0.8%) to 2,154,000 during the quarter, which is the lowest number of employed people in almost three years.

On an annual basis, employment declined 1.8%.

While the New Zealand economy has seen some signs of growth such as a modest rise in gross domestic product, unemployment tends to lag behind these changes.

Last week Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard kept interest rates on hold at 2.5% saying there were "significant vulnerabilities and challenges to be worked through in many economies".

ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley says Thursday's results from the Household Labour Force Survey will reinforce the central bank's view that it will not lift interest rates in the near term.

Economists predict unemployment will peak at around 7%.

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