New Zealand's unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to a
13-year high as the pool of jobs shrank for a second straight
quarter with a flat labour market in Auckland and fewer
full-time workers.
Despite at least one in
three young Otago people being jobless, the Dunedin Methodist
Mission does not believe reintroducing youth rates is the
answer.
A rise in the number
of part-time employees in the March quarter has underpinned a
slight fall in unemployment from 6.7% to 6.6%, with the total
now unemployed falling by 2000 to 155,000.
The unemployment rate edged down to 6.6 percent in the March
quarter, from 6.7 percent, as seasonally adjusted total
employment rose by 30,000 or 1.4 percent.
Unemployment figures are expected to have fallen in the three
months ended March following figures released yesterday
showing encouraging signs in employment demand.
A surprise fall in New Zealand's unemployment rate from 6.9%
to 6.4% has been welcomed by analysts, but the positive
result has been overshadowed by the survey's volatility
during the past year.
Surging unemployment has given Government critics a chance to
vent their anger at employment policies they say are failing
out-of-work New Zealanders and are damaging the economy.
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.
