New Zealand’s unemployment fee climbed to five.2% within the June 2025 quarter, up from 5.1% within the earlier quarter, because the labor market continues to point out indicators of gradual cooling amid broader financial headwinds.
The most recent knowledge from Statistics New Zealand confirmed a 0.1% quarter-on-quarter decline in hiring as anticipated, whereas the earlier studying was downgraded to point out a flat determine from the sooner 0.1% uptick.
Key Factors from the June 2025 Quarter Report
- Unemployment rises modestly: The seasonally adjusted unemployment fee elevated to five.2% from 5.1%, with the variety of unemployed folks reaching 158,000
- Employment fee declines: The employment fee fell to 66.8% from 67.1%, with whole employed individuals at 2.88 million in comparison with 2.91 million a 12 months earlier
- Regional job losses concentrated: Auckland noticed the biggest employment decline with 23,100 fewer jobs, adopted by Waikato (-11,100) and Taranaki (-5,200)
- Wage progress moderates: All wage and wage charges elevated 2.4% yearly, whereas common abnormal time hourly earnings rose 4.5% to $43.39
- Underutilization broadens: The underutilization fee climbed to 12.8%, affecting 403,000 folks, with ladies disproportionately represented at 222,000
- Youth employment challenges persist: The NEET fee (not in employment, training, or coaching) for 15-24 year-olds remained steady at 12.9%
The modest uptick in unemployment got here alongside a decline within the employment fee to 66.8%, down from 67.1% in March, signaling that fewer working-age New Zealanders are discovering jobs in an more and more difficult financial setting.
The underutilization fee, which captures a broader measure of labor market slack together with underemployed employees, rose to 12.8% from 12.4% within the earlier quarter. The 0.9% year-over-year drop in employment, with 26,000 fewer folks in work in comparison with June 2024, underscores the difficult circumstances dealing with job seekers throughout the nation.
Hyperlink to official New Zealand Labour Market Statistics (June 2025 Quarter)
Nevertheless, the wage value index presents a barely extra upbeat image, with the Labour Price Index exhibiting all wage and wage charges rising 2.4% yearly – a tempo that continues to be above the Reserve Financial institution’s inflation goal.
Market Reactions
New Zealand Greenback vs. Main Currencies: 5-min
Overlay of NZD vs. Main Currencies Chart by TradingView
The New Zealand greenback exhibited a combined however usually constructive response to the employment knowledge launch, with most main forex pairs exhibiting modest positive aspects.
NZD/USD pair roughly 0.43% just a few hours after the discharge, suggesting markets might have been positioned for a weaker final result or are specializing in the uptick in labor price index from 0.4% to 0.6% quarter-on-quarter as an indicator of sticky wage pressures.
Towards different main currencies, the kiwi greenback confirmed broad-based power, gaining 0.41% versus the euro, 0.40% in opposition to the pound, and 0.36% versus the Swiss franc.
