Unemployment Rate Hits 5.3 Percent Due To COVID-19

In the September 2020 quarter, the seasonally adjusted number of unemployed people rose by 37,000 to reach 151,000, as the impact of COVID-19 hit the labour market, Stats NZ said today.

In the September 2020 quarter:
 

• There were 37,000 more unemployed people, an increase of 32.5 percent since the June 2020 quarter.
• Applications for the eight-week Wage Subsidy Extension were open until 1 September 2020 and until 3 September 2020 for the two-week Resurgence Wage subsidy.
• There were 22,000 fewer employed people this quarter than in the June 2020 quarter.
• The underutilisation rate rose to 13.2 percent.
• Hours worked nearly bounced back from record falls during lockdown.
• Wages showed growth this quarter.

This 37,000 rise is the largest quarterly rise in unemployment since the series began in 1986.

The next largest rise in a single quarter was recorded in the June 2009 quarter during the global financial crisis, when the number of unemployed people rose by 18,000.

Visit our website to read these news stories, information release and to download CSV files:

• Unemployment rate hits 5.3 percent due to COVID-19
• COVID-19’s impact on women and work
• Labour market statistics: September 2020 quarter
• CSV files for download

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