Against a backdrop of concern at the rising national figures, Otago and Southland bucked the increase and quarter-to-quarter figures both showed a drop in unemployment.
Otago Southland Employers Association chief executive John Scandrett said while the northern regional areas had been hit the worst and the national assessment was of concern, the good news was Otago and Southland reported a quarterly improvement in unemployment levels.
For the quarter to September, Otago had 5.6% unemployment, while in the December quarter the unemployment level was down to 3.9%, and in Southland unemployment improved from 3.2% to 2.8%.
Statistics New Zealand noted the regional figures were not seasonally adjusted and subject to more volatility than the adjusted national figures, with employment in horticulture and agriculture likely to have aided Otago's decrease.
Nationally, people officially without jobs jumped 18,000 to 168,000 - double the Labour Department forecast of a 9000 increase, the Statistics NZ household labour force survey revealed yesterday.
The unemployment rate was now at its highest level since the quarter to June 1999, government statistician Geoff Bascand said in a statement.
Mr Scandrett said the stabilising economic trends now being seen in some areas might not be as widespread as envisaged.
"What the figures appear to tell us is that there are a good deal more employers out there struggling with wage rates and general employment issues across the board," he said in a statement yesterday.
What was "most significant and worrying" was that the 15- to 24-year-old unemployed level had increased by 6.4% to 18.4% for the quarter.
"This news reinforces that many businesses are not out of the economic woods and don't yet see opportunities to expand their work force, especially at the lower end of the employment scale where younger workers are offered jobs," Mr Scandrett said.
The overall increase in unemployment was mainly due to a rise in the number of people entering the labour force, but unable to find work, Mr Bascand said.
Aside from the 15- to 24-year-old group, Mr Bascand said the rate also remained high for Maori, at 15.4%, Pacific Islanders, 14%, and Middle Eastern/Latin American/African, 17.1%, while the unemployment rate for New Zealand Europeans stood at 4.6%.
The number of people with jobs dropped by 2000, or 0.1%, during the latest quarter, compared with a 16,000 decline in the previous quarter.
In the past year, employment fell by 53,000, or 2.4%, with the main fall in Auckland and Canterbury.
