Number of unemployed hits 15-year high

Unemployment has jumped from 6 per cent to 6.5 per cent in the September quarter.

The number of unemployed rose by 12,000 to reach 150,000 people Statistics New Zealand said.

The number of people unemployed is at its highest level since the March 1994 quarter.

Jobs have fallen in manufacturing, retail trade and accommodation, and construction industries, while employment in the health care and social assistance, and public administration and safety industries has increased Statistics NZ said.

A rise in the number of unemployed men drove the increase in unemployment during the latest quarter, however, the number of unemployed women also rose.

The number of people unemployed has increased steadily since the December 2007 quarter.

The number of people employed fell by 17,000 during the latest quarter, driven entirely by males.

Male full-time employment decreased by 14,000, while male part-time employment decreased by 6,000

ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said employment was softer than tentative signs of stabilisation implied by business surveys.

He expected employment to roughly stabilise in the December quarter, and start to pick up in the first quarter of next year.

ANZ-National Bank senior economist Khoon Goh said that while the economy might be expanding again, labour demand remained "pretty weak".

"Given the usual lags between employment and economic activity we can expect the unemployment rate to continue rising from here," he said.

Overall, the data reinforced the Reserve Bank's stance of leaving interest rates on hold until the second half of next year.

Deutsche Bank chief economist Darren Gibbs said the good news was that forward-looking indicators were much improved over recent months.

The economy was on course for an unemployment rate that would stabilise around 7 percent, before declining from the middle of next year, he said.

-with NZPA

- © Fairfax NZ News