Unemployment rate flat at 6.6%

Unemployment stats just out show that the New Zealand jobless rate is flat at 6.6 percent, with just a 0.1 percent increase in the latest quarter.

Although an extra 5000 people were employed in the September 2011 quarter, the unemployment rate remained relatively flat at 6.6 percent, up from 6.5 percent in the June 2011 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today.

Analysts were expecting a 0.6 percent increase in employment growth and a 6.4 per cent unemployment rate.

In the September 2011 quarter, the labour force grew, with increases in both the number of people employed and the number of people unemployed. "The growth in employment reflects a rise in full-time employment, while part-time employment dropped slightly over the quarter," industry and labour statistics manager Diane Ramsay said.

There were different labour market movements for men and women this quarter. The number of men in employment rose, and the number of men in unemployment fell. However, the number of women in employment fell, while the number of women in unemployment rose.

The Canterbury labour market continues to move differently from the national labour market.

While nationally employment grew by 1.1 percent over the September 2011 year, the number of people employed in the Canterbury region has fallen by 8 percent.

The Canterbury unemployment rate increased to 5.5 percent over the same period, which is still well below the national unemployment rate.