New Zealand's unemployment rate rises to 5.7%

New Zealand's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.7% in the September 2026 quarter, compared with 5.6% in the June 2026 quarter, Stats NZ reported on 4 November 2026. The underutilisation rate was unchanged at 13.8% (Stats NZ, Labour market statistics: September 2026 quarter).

Key figures, September 2026 quarter (seasonally adjusted)

• Unemployment rate: 5.7%, from 5.6%
• Underutilisation rate: 13.8%, unchanged
• Employment rate: 66.4%, from 66.7%
• Unemployed people: 174,000, from 171,000

Wages, year to September 2026

• All salary and wage rates (including overtime): +2.1%
• Average weekly earnings for full-time equivalent employees: $1,743, from $1,688
• Average ordinary time hourly earnings: $44.86, from $43.60

By sex, the unemployment rate for men was unchanged at 5.6%, while for women it rose to 5.7% from 5.5%. Not seasonally adjusted, 21.5% of the 169,100 people unemployed in the quarter had been out of work for more than a year.

Why it matters for NZD

Wages and jobs feed into the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's view of inflation, which ran at 3.7% in the year to September (September quarter CPI). The next labour market release, for the December 2026 quarter, is due on 3 February 2027. Live prices: NZD/USD, and for the basics, how to trade NZD/USD.