Official employment data comes from New Zealand only once a quarter.
Unemployment rate 3.4% vs. expected 3.3%, prior 3.3%
Employment change 0.2% vs. expected 0.3% q/q, prior 1.3%
Participation rate 71.7% vs. expected 71.7%, prior 71.7%
Labour cost index 1.1% vs. expected 1.3% q/q, prior 1.1%
Labour cost index 4.3% vs. expected 4.3% q/q, prior 3.8%
Tightness in the labour market has been a key constraint on New Zealand business. As you can see the unemployment rate has ticked up a little, jobs added (employment change) have missed the median estimate and come in well under the Q3 result, and q/q labour costs have also missed. I'd argue this is better news for NZ business, but its marginal only.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand next meet on February 22. A +50bp rate hike is widely expected as the Bank continues to try to rein in inflation .:
- New Zealand Q4 inflation 1.4% q/q (expected 1.3%) 7.2% y/y (expected 7.1%)
- RBNZ's own CPI indicator 5.8% y/y (prior 5.6%)
