New Zealand's unemployment rate at 21-year low of 3.5 percent

WELLINGTON, New Zealand: New Zealand's unemployment rate fell in the third quarter to 3.5 percent — the lowest rate in the 21 years that the figure has been tracked, official data showed Thursday.

Statistics New Zealand said its Household Labor Force Survey showed that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30, from 3.6 percent in the second quarter.

It was the lowest jobless rate recorded since the survey started in 1986, the state-funded bureau said.

However, the overall level of employment fell off from a record high the previous quarter.

Seasonally adjusted employment declined 0.3 percent in the third quarter, Statistics New Zealand said. The decline was led by a 0.6 percent fall in full-time jobs, dominated by a 1.2 percent fall in female employment — but part-time employment was up 1.3 percent.

On a seasonally adjusted basis 2.15 million New Zealanders had jobs in the third quarter, down 7,000 from the previous quarter, when the country had its highest level of employment since tracking of the figures started in 1986.


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