The Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) and the Labour Cost Index (LCI) of the three months ending December will all be released tomorrow.
This will be the third release under the new labour definitions in the HLFS and the results should be more settled.
Westpac and the ASB expect the unemployment rate to fall to 4.8%, despite a small upward movement in the labour participation rate to 70.2% from 70.1%.
Westpac senior economist Satish Ranchhod said in a preview the New Zealand economy had a ``pretty solid innings'' last year.
GDP growth improved to 3% in the year to September and business surveys and other measures of economic activity pointed to continued firm economic growth through the final part of the year.
The strength in economic economic activity meant the New Zealand labour market continued to firm.
He expected the fourth quarter HLFS to show employment levels increased by 0.6% in the December quarter.
``While that's a bit slower than what we've seen in the past quarters, it's still a healthy clip.''
The QES was expected to show the number of full-time equivalent employees grew by 0.8% in the December quarter to be 2.9% higher for the year - consistent with an economy growing at a firm pace, he said.
Increases in employment were expected to be widespread. The largest gains were expected in services sectors - such as professional services - and construction.
Those sectors had been key drivers of GDP growth and businesses had reported a continued increase in staff numbers in recent months.
One notable downside risk to the employment forecast was the effect of the Kaikoura earthquakes which struck halfway through the quarter, Mr Ranchhod said.
The events had a severe impact on some smaller centres in the upper part of the South Island and caused disruptions in Wellington.
Activity in many industries was affected and retail and tourism were particularly hard-hit.
Reconstruction following the earthquakes would boost overall economic activity and employment over time.
However, demand in some parts of the economy, including regional tourism, might remain subdued, he said.
ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley expected wage growth to firm slightly but remain fairly muted.
The modest growth was a function of continued firm net migration as record highs continued to be posted through the quarter. Low inflation was also tempering the extent of wage increases.
``As the labour market continues to tighten we look for more solid wage growth further down the track.''
ASB expected a 0.42% quarter-on-quarter growth in the LCI across all sectors, slightly slower than September's 0.53% but still leaving the annual pace holding at 1.7%, he said.
Mr Tuffley remained mindful the new survey outcomes could still create surprises.
