The employment rate has risen to 68.3 per cent in the September 2018 quarter - the highest rate since the series began more than 30 years ago, Statistics New Zealand revealed today.
The unemployment rate has fallen to 3.9 per cent in the September 2018 quarter, down from 4.4 per cent last quarter and the lowest unemployment rate since the June 2008 quarter, when it fell to 3.8 per cent.
Statistics New Zealand said the fall in the unemployment rate in the latest quarter is reflected in the fall in the number of unemployed, down 13,000, and a strong rise in employment, which is up by 29,000.
Labour market and household statistics senior manager Jason Attewell said while this quarter's unemployment rate is "outside market expectations", the country has "a small economy with a dynamic labour market, and large changes, both up and down, have happened before – in late 2012 and 2015".
"We also know labour market measures tend to lag behind other economic indicators, which have shown strong and widespread growth in 2018. We've seen population growth in the regions, reports of more job ads, high levels of migration and tourism, growing retail sales, and rising exports."
In the latest quarter, 109,000 people were unemployed - 10.5 per cent fewer than in the June 2018 quarter, which had 8000 fewer women and 5000 fewer men. This was mainly reflected in the 11,000 fewer unemployed youth aged between 15-24 years of age.
Annually, filled jobs also increased 1.2 per cent to 23,500 more jobs, with 17,500 held by women and 6000 held by men.
Private sector wages also increased 1.9 per cent, while public sector wages increased 1.5 per cent.
Within the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), wages also grew annually, with average ordinary time hourly earnings increasing to $31.34, or up 2.9 per cent.
Meanwhile, private sector average ordinary time hourly earnings also increased 3.6 per cent, to $29.38, while for the public sector the increase was 1.6 percent, to $39.31.
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