New Zealand unemployment rate spiked to 7.3% in 4Q

New Zealand unemployment rate spiked to 7.3% in 4Q

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• Unemployment rate highest since 1999
• Employment contracted 0.1%q/q
• Hours worked fell a further 0.4%q/q

The unemployment rate in New Zealand spiked to 7.3% in the December quarter (J.P. Morgan 7.2%, consensus 6.8%) from 6.5%. The increase in the final three months of the year means that the unemployment rate now is 3.5% higher than at the start of 2008, when the Kiwi economy slipped into a recession which extended for five straight quarters. The good news is that the unemployment rate probably has peaked.

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