Global| Feb 11 2005Record Low Unemployment in New Zealand for Q4
Summary
New Zealand's unemployment rate fell in Q4 to 3.6%, an all-time low, as reported in the quarterly labor force survey released Friday morning in New Zealand. These data began in 1986 and, prior to the last two quarters, the [...]
New Zealand's unemployment rate fell in Q4 to 3.6%, an all-time low, as reported in the quarterly labor force survey released Friday morning in New Zealand. These data began in 1986 and, prior to the last two quarters, the unemployment rate had never been below 4%.
The New Zealand economy appears quite vigorous, and the low unemployment is a result of strong employment growth. The number of people employed increased 33,000 in Q4, the largest quarterly increase ever; this represented a 6.7% annualized growth rate, compared with 4.4% over a year ago and 3.4% for 2004 as a whole. Gains were widespread among industries, including virtually the entire service sector. Only manufacturing decreased, and that a mere 300 workers.
As indicated in the table below, GDP for 2004 was already running ahead of last year by 4.7% (average of first three quarters over the same period of 2003). The larger increase in Q4 employment suggests more GDP growth as well, as the year came to an end.[These data were updated by the Haver staff on our new "Asian shift" and were available in our databases "ANZ" and "G10" soon after their release in Wellington.]
| Q4 2004 | Q3 2004 | Q4 2003 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employed (Millions) | 2.06 | 2.03 | 1.97 | 2.02 | 1.95 | 1.91 |
| % Chg, Ann Rate | 6.7 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 4.2 |
| Unemployed (Thousands) | 76K | 79K | 94K | 82K | 95K | 103K |
| Unemployment Rate | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 5.2 |
| Real GDP Growth (% Chg, Ann Rate) | -- | 1.9 | 4.1* | 4.7** | 3.3 | 4.6 |
Carol Stone, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Carol Stone, CBE came to Haver Analytics in 2003 following more than 35 years as a financial market economist at major Wall Street financial institutions, most especially Merrill Lynch and Nomura Securities. She has broad experience in analysis and forecasting of flow-of-funds accounts, the federal budget and Federal Reserve operations. At Nomura Securites, among other duties, she developed various indicator forecasting tools and edited a daily global publication produced in London and New York for readers in Tokyo. At Haver Analytics, Carol is a member of the Research Department, aiding database managers with research and documentation efforts, as well as posting commentary on select economic reports. In addition, she conducts Ways-of-the-World, a blog on economic issues for an Episcopal-Church-affiliated website, The Geranium Farm. During her career, Carol served as an officer of the Money Marketeers and the Downtown Economists Club. She has a PhD from NYU's Stern School of Business. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has a weekend home on Long Island.
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