The South Island is far better placed than the North Island when it comes to seasonally unadjusted unemployment numbers, according to Statistics NZ's household labour force survey.
But in the case of Otago, the numbers fluctuate so much from quarter to quarter they are almost meaningless.
Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 6.8% in June from 6% in March.
In Otago, the unadjusted numbers showed Otago's unemployment rate was 4.7% in June, down from 6.3% in March. There was a 1.4% sample error rate.
The labour force participation rate fell to 68% in June from 69.2% and the working-age population rose to 179,500 from 176,400 with a sample error rate of nearly 10%.
The survey showed there were 116,400 people employed in June, up from the 114,500 in March, and the number of unemployed fell to 5700 from 7600.
Previously, Statistics NZ has told the Otago Daily Times the Otago statistics are subject to tertiary students' movements and the amount of seasonal work available in Central Otago.
However, if the South Island figures are compared with those from regional council areas in the North Island, the employment picture looks much brighter in the South.
Tasman/Nelson/Marlborough/West Coast has an unemployment rate of 3.2%, Canterbury is 4.8%, Otago 4.7% and Southland is 4.2%.
In contrast, Northland is 9.1%, Auckland 8.7%, Waikato 6%, Bay of Plenty 7.8%, Gisborne-Hawkes Bay 8.5%, Taranaki 4.9%, Manawatu-Wanganui 6.9% and Wellington is 5.5%.
