Confirming fears about a post-pandemic hard landing, New Zealand's unemployment rate has ticked above five per cent.
On Wednesday, Stats NZ reported the country's new jobless rate as 5.1 per cent as of December 2024: up from 4.8 per cent a quarter earlier and four per cent a year earlier.
Stats NZ spokeswoman Deb Brunning said it was men who are feeling the brunt of the economic downturn, including "the largest annual fall in employment" since 2009.
"Men accounted for 85 per cent of the annual decrease in employment, reflecting substantial falls in the male-dominated occupation groups of technicians and trades workers, and machinery operators and drivers," she said.
The figures are no surprise, with leading economists including at ANZ, ASB and Kiwibank tipping joblessness to land at 5.1 per cent, and Westpac not far behind on 5.0 per cent.
There are now unemployment 156,000 unemployed Kiwis, up 33,000 from a year ago.
Outside of a small spike during the initial pandemic shock, the unemployment rate is at its highest rate since 2016.
ASB senior economist Mark Smith said the joblessness rate would continue to lower as business "carefully manage employee headcount".
"We envisage that demand for labour will continue to weaken ... we do not expect to see discernible signs of improvement in hiring until well into 2025," he said.
New Zealand is in the midst of a hardy recession, with GDP contracting 2.1 per cent in the middle of 2024, and the Chris Luxon-led government running an unorthodox and tough fiscal strategy.
While governments tend to support the economy by running expansive fiscal strategies during downturns - that is, by opening up the government's books to spend more - Mr Luxon's conservative government is instead delivering public sector cuts.
Labour finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds blamed unemployment on her political opponents.
"This is what happens when the government chooses to slash funding for frontline services, cut public sector jobs, and undermine economic stability," Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said.
Mr Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis, in turn, blame Labour for the deteriorating economy, arguing the need to reduce spending to balance the books.
"I feel for people who have lost their jobs or are finding it hard to find work. That is the human cost of a lingering effects of economic mismanagement by the previous government," Ms Willis said.
The figures are the last major piece of data prior to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's first monetary policy meeting of the year on February 19.
Last year, RBNZ governor Adrian Orr all but confirmed a 50 basis point cut at that meeting, and these figures would give him no pause to halt the bank's plans.
Unlike its Australian counterpart, the RBNZ has been lowering interest rates since August 2024, when it began an easing cycle from 5.5 per cent, down to its current rate of 4.25 per cent.
Markets are expecting the Kiwi OCR to sit at 3.75 per cent following the February 19 meeting.
