New Zealand Real Unemployment at 9.1%

Tuesday, 28 August 2012, 12:06 pm
Press Release: Roy Morgan Research

New Zealand Real Unemployment at 9.1% with a Further 9.6% of Workforce under-Employed

In the June Quarter 2012 according to Roy Morgan:

• New Zealand unemployment was 9.1% of the 2,529,000 in the New Zealand workforce — an estimated 228,000 were unemployed and looking for work.
• A further 9.6% of the workforce* were under-employed — that is working part-time but looking for more work — 239,000 New Zealanders.
• In total 18.6% of the workforce, or 467,000 New Zealanders were either unemployed or under-employed.
• The latest Roy Morgan unemployment estimate of 9.1% is now 2.3% above the 6.8% currently quoted by the New Zealand Department of Labour for the April — June Quarter 2012.
• Compared to the March 2012 Quarter unemployment is down 2.0% (from 11.1% in March 2012). Although the number of people employed is up marginally (up 4,000), the real decrease in unemployment is driven by a reduction of 58,000 in the number of people looking for work.
• Compared to a year ago (the June 2011 Quarter) there are an additional 93,000 New Zealanders now employed, and unemployment is down from 9.7% in June 2011 to 9.1%.

Roy Morgan New Zealand Unemployed and ‘Under-employed’* Estimate

Gary Morgan says:

“Today’s inaugural release of Roy Morgan New Zealand’s real employment estimate shows that despite the economic worries from overseas, and in particular Europe, employment in New Zealand has grown strongly over the past 12 months.

“The Roy Morgan New Zealand employment estimates show overall employment in New Zealand has grown in each of the last 6 quarters — since the December Quarter 2010. Over the past 12 months, overall employment in New Zealand has increased 93,000 to 2,301,000 (June Quarter 2012). The NZ Department of Labour figures show more subdued employment growth during this period with overall employment up 13,000 to 2,227,000 over the past 12 months.

“However, despite the strong jobs growth in the New Zealand economy, the Roy Morgan New Zealand unemployment estimate shows real unemployment in New Zealand at 9.1% (228,000) in the June Quarter 2012 — significantly higher than the 6.8% estimate provided by the New Zealand Department of Labour for the same time period.

“Additionally, a further 239,000 New Zealanders in part-time employment are looking for more work (representing 9.6% of the New Zealand workforce). Roy Morgan New Zealand figures show a total of 467,000 New Zealanders (18.7% of the New Zealand workforce) are either unemployed or under-employed. In contrast, the New Zealand Department of Labour estimates under-employment at only 4.6% in the June Quarter 2012 for a total of 272,000 New Zealanders (11.4%) either unemployed or under-employed.”

Full Tables & Details: http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2012/4804

ENDS

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Roy Morgan Research

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A full service research organisation specialising in omnibus and syndicated data, Roy Morgan Research has over 70 years' experience in collecting objective, independent information on consumers. Roy Morgan Research was set up in New Zealand in the 1990s and has been collecting information across a wide range of industries in New Zealand ever since. Roy Morgan currently has over 10 years of trended data on a geographically and demographically representative sample of over 12,000 New Zealanders aged 14+.

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