New Zealand employment report for the January to March quarter of 2021

Plenty of beats in the data! More jobs added than expected, jobless rate lower despite a rising participation rate. Strong report.

Unemployment rate 4.7%

  • expected 4.9%, prior 4.9%

Employment change 0.6% q/q

  • expected 0.3% q/q, prior 0.6%

Employment change 0.3% y/y

  • expected -0.1% y/y, prior 0.7%

Participation rate 70.4%

  • expected 70.3%, prior 70.2%

Private wages excluding overtime 0.4% q/q

  • expected 0.3% q/q, prior 0.5%

Private wages including overtime 0.4% q/q

  • expected 0.4% q/q, prior 0.5%

Average hourly earnings% q/q

  • expected 0.7% q/q, prior 1.1%

more to come