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Labour market eases IN SEASONALLY adjusted terms, the labour market eased slightly in the September 2006 quarter, with a small fall in the number of employed, Statistics New Zealand has said.The labour market remained relatively tight though, with the number of people employed still the second-highest recorded by the Household Labour Force Survey and the labour force participation rate the third-highest recorded. The number of people in employment was 2,118,000 for the September 2006 quarter. The decrease of 9,000 (0.4 per cent) over the quarter was wholly due to falls in female full-time and female part-time employment. Overall male employment stayed steady. In annual terms, employment growth remained strong at 1.5 per cent. The labour force participation rate remained high at 68.3 per cent but eased by 0.4 of a percentage point over the quarter. The decrease was due to a contraction in the labour force of 5,000 (0.2 per cent) coupled with a steady increase of 10,000 people (0.3 per cent) in the working-age population. While the number of people in the labour force dropped slightly, the number not in the labour force grew strongly, increasing by 19,000 (1.9 per cent) over the quarter. Females contributed over three-quarters of this increase. Unemployment rose by 4,000 over the quarter - a 5.5 per cent increase. This movement was wholly driven by an increase in male unemployment. The unemployment rate for the September 2006 quarter was 3.8 per cent. The increase of 0.2 of a per centage point over the quarter reflects the growth in unemployment and the slight decrease in the size of the labour force. Unadjusted unemployment rates by ethnic group were: 7.6 per cent for Maori, 5.1 per cent for Pacific peoples, 5.8 per cent for the 'Other' ethnic group, and 2.7 per cent for European/Pakeha. |
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