Labour market statistics provide a picture of the New Zealand labour market, including unemployment and employment rates, demand for labour, and changes in wages and salaries.
Key facts
In the December 2024 quarter, compared with the September 2024 quarter, the:
- unemployment rate was 5.1 percent, compared with 4.8 percent
- underutilisation rate was 12.1 percent, up from 11.6 percent
- employment rate was 67.4 percent, compared with 67.7 percent (revised).
In the year to the December 2024 quarter:
- all salary and wage rates (including overtime) increased 3.3 percent
- average weekly earnings (including overtime) for full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) increased to $1,651
- average ordinary time hourly earnings rose to $42.57.
Employment at a glance (seasonally adjusted) |
December 2024 |
Quarterly |
Annual |
|
Percent |
Percentage points |
|||
Unemployment rate |
5.1 |
0.2 |
1.1 |
|
Underutilisation rate |
12.1 |
0.5 |
1.4 |
|
Employment rate |
67.4 |
-0.3 |
-1.7 |
|
Labour force participation rate |
71.0 |
-0.2 |
-0.9 |
|
(000) |
Percent |
|||
Unemployed |
156 |
5.0 |
26.8 |
|
Underutilised |
385 |
4.8 |
13.6 |
|
Employed |
2,916 |
-0.1 |
-1.1 |
|
Working-age population |
4,328 |
0.4 |
1.4 |
|
Wages at a glance (not seasonally adjusted) |
Index |
Percent |
||
Wage inflation (salary and wage rates, |
All sectors |
1415 |
0.6 |
3.3 |
Private sector |
1414 |
0.6 |
3.0 |
|
Public sector |
1430 |
0.5 |
4.5 |
|
LCI analytical unadjusted |
1721 |
0.9 |
4.2 |
|
Dollars |
Percent |
|||
Average ordinary time hourly earnings |
42.57 |
1.4 |
4.2 |
|
Hours at a glance (seasonally adjusted) |
Hours |
Percent |
||
Average weekly paid hours for FTEs (QES) |
Ordinary time |
38.06 |
-0.1 |
0.1 |
Total |
38.60 |
-0.1 |
-0.3 |
|
Hours (millions) |
Percent |
|||
Total weekly paid hours (QES) |
74.2 |
-0.1 |
-1.1 |
|
Total actual weekly hours worked (HLFS) |
96.8 |
-0.5 |
-2.5 |
|
Note: LCI - labour cost index QES - Quarterly Employment Survey HLFS - Household Labour Force Survey FTEs - full-time equivalent employees Due to rounding, changes do not always sum to the published totals. |
||||
Unemployment
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in the December 2024 quarter, compared with 4.8 percent last quarter.
- For men, the unemployment rate was 4.9 percent, compared with 4.7 percent last quarter.
- For women, the unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, compared with 5.0 percent last quarter.
The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed people was 156,000 (up 7,000 from the September 2024 quarter).
Underutilisation
The seasonally adjusted underutilisation rate was 12.1 percent in the December 2024 quarter, compared with 11.6 percent last quarter.
- For men, the underutilisation rate was 10.6 percent, compared with 10.3 percent last quarter.
- For women, the underutilisation rate was 13.8 percent, compared with 13.1 percent last quarter.
Underutilisation is a broad measure of spare capacity in New Zealand's labour market and is just as important as the unemployment rate, as it gives us a more detailed picture of the workforce.
In the December 2024 quarter, the number of underutilised people was 385,000 (up 18,000 from the September 2024 quarter).
Text alternative for diagram Total underutilisation, December 2024 quarter, seasonally adjusted
Employment
The seasonally adjusted employment rate in the December 2024 quarter was 67.4 percent, compared with 67.7 percent in the September 2024 quarter (revised) and 69.0 percent in the December 2023 quarter.
- For men, the employment rate was 71.4 percent, compared with 71.8 percent last quarter.
- For women, the employment rate was 63.4 percent, compared with 63.7 percent last quarter.
In the December 2024 quarter, 2,916,000 people were employed, down 32,000 since the December 2023 quarter.
Three occupation groups accounted for most of the decrease in employment (not seasonally adjusted) over the year. Employment for:
- technicians and trades workers fell by 22,600
- clerical and administrative workers fell by 20,400
- machinery operators and drivers fell by 17,000.
The largest-growing occupation group was community and personal service workers (up 21,600).
Unemployment rate at 5.1 percent in the December 2024 quarter has more on changes in employment.
Labour force participation
The seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate was 71.0 percent in the December 2024 quarter, compared with 71.1 percent last quarter (revised).
- For men, the labour force participation rate was 75.1 percent, compared with 75.3 percent last quarter.
- For women, the labour force participation rate was 66.9 percent, compared with 67.0 percent last quarter.
There were 11,000 more people not in the labour force (NILF), up to 1,257,000.
- 6,000 more men were NILF, compared with last quarter.
- 5,000 more women were NILF, compared with last quarter.
Youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET)
In the December 2024 quarter, the seasonally adjusted proportion of people aged 15 to 24 who were not in employment, education, or training (NEET) rose to 13.5 percent, up from 12.3 percent in the September 2024 quarter.
The number of young people who were NEET rose by 8,000 over the quarter, to 91,000.
Wages
The labour cost index (LCI) all salary and wage rates (including overtime) increased 3.3 percent in the year to the December 2024 quarter, while the unadjusted LCI increased 4.2 percent.
- Private sector wage rates increased 3.0 percent annually.
- Public sector wage rates increased 4.5 percent annually.
The LCI is often compared with the consumers price index (CPI) to see how wage inflation compares with consumer inflation (that is, the change in prices of goods and services bought by households). Annual CPI inflation was 2.2 percent in the year to the December 2024 quarter.
Average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), increased 4.2 percent to $42.57 in the year to the December 2024 quarter.
- Private sector ordinary time hourly earnings increased 4.0 percent, to $40.39.
- Public sector ordinary time hourly earnings increased 4.5 percent, to $50.65.
Average weekly earnings (including overtime) for full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) in the QES increased 4.0 percent annually, to $1,651.
- Private sector average weekly earnings increased 3.5 percent to $1,566.
- Public sector average weekly earnings increased 5.0 percent to $1,972.
Text alternative for diagram Total underutilisation, December 2024 quarter, seasonally adjusted
Diagram shows data from the December 2024 quarter's Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS).
The underutilisation rate was up 0.5pp (percentage points), to 12.1 percent. This rate is derived from the number of total underutilised divided by the extended labour force. The unemployment rate was up 0.2pp, to 5.1 percent. This is derived from the number of unemployed divided by the labour force.
The number of total underutilised was up 18,000, to 385,000. The number of underemployed was up 9,000, to 130,000, while the number of unemployed was up 7,000, to 156,000. The potential labour force was up 2,000, to 99,000.
Within the potential labour force, available potential jobseekers were up 1,500, to 78,700, and unavailable jobseekers had no movement, at 20,000.
Notes:
- No seasonal pattern is evident for available potential jobseekers. Therefore, this series is not seasonally adjusted.
- Due to rounding, changes do not always sum to the published totals.
- All changes are quarterly.
Source: Stats NZ, Household Labour Force Survey
More data
Use Infoshare to access the labour market time series.
Subject category: Work income and spending
Group: Household labour force survey - HLF
Group: Quarterly employment survey - QEM
Group: Labour cost index - LCI
Definitions and metadata
Labour market statistics: December 2024 quarter - Period-specific information - DataInfo+ includes data quality notes for the December 2024 quarter, including response and achieved sample rates.
Labour market statistics - DataInfo+ gives general methodology used to produce this release, and related metadata.
Household Labour Force Survey - DataInfo+ gives general methodology used to produce Household Labour Force Survey statistics, and related metadata.
Labour cost index - DataInfo+ gives general methodology used to produce labour cost index statistics, and related metadata.
Quarterly Employment Survey - DataInfo+ gives general methodology used to produce Quarterly Employment Survey statistics, and related metadata.
Technical enquiries
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ISSN 2422-8699
Next release
Labour market statistics: March 2025 quarter will be released on 7 May 2025.
