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Unemployment remained unchanged at 5.1% in the March quarter, Stats NZ said today. 

The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed people was 156,000, the same as the December 2024 quarter. 

Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted underutilisation rate – a measure of spare capacity in New Zealand’s labour market – was 12.3%, or 390,000 people, compared with 12.1% in the December 2024 quarter. 

The underutilisation figure includes those looking for work (unemployed), those working but seeking more hours of work (underemployed), and those not seeking work but would take a job if offered (potential labour force). 

Both Westpac and ANZ economists had last week picked the unemployment rate would land at 5.3%. 

“This would take it beyond its lockdown-era peak, and up to its highest level since 2016,” said Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon. 

“We’ve come a long way from the post-Covid period of an overheated economy and severe labour shortages, when the unemployment rate reached a record low of 3.2%.” 

ASB had picked an unemployment rate of 5.2%, in line with the Reserve Bank’s most recent forecast. 

Cameron Smith is an Auckland-based journalist with the Herald business team. He joined the Herald in 2015 and has covered business and sports. He reports on topics such as retail, small business, the workplace and macroeconomics.