By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) – New Zealand’s jobless rate rose to 5.7% in the third quarter – its highest level since 2015 – while employment fell 0.1% from the previous quarter, according to data released by Statistics New Zealand on Wednesday.
• Economists polled by Reuters had forecast an unemployment rate of 5.5% and for employment to rise 0.4%. The central bank had expected the unemployment rate to be 5.5%.
• The participation rate was 70.4% in the third quarter. It was slightly lower than a forecast 70.7% participation rate.
• Wage growth slowed in the quarter with the private sector labour cost index (LCI) excluding overtime recording a 0.4% lift on the quarter and rising 2.0% on year.
• A key focus from this data will be the measure of wage inflation as the central bank looks for any signs that inflation is becoming entrenched in the economy.
• Last week, the central bank surprised the market by holding the cash rate steady at 2.75% citing a desire to assess the impact of two previous rate hikes. However, it signaled that further hikes remain likely.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Renju Jose)
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