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 2023 quarter, compared with the September 2023 quarter, the:
- unemployment rate was 4.0 percent, compared with 3.9 percent
- underutilisation rate was 10.7 percent, compared with 10.4 percent
- employment rate was 69.0 percent, compared with 69.2 percent (revised).
In the year to the December 2023 quarter:
- all salary and wage rates (including overtime) increased 4.3 percent
- average weekly earnings (including overtime) for full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) increased to $1,588
- average ordinary time hourly earnings increased to $40.84.
Employment at a glance (seasonally adjusted) | December 2023 | Quarterly | Annual | |
Percent | Percentage points | |||
Unemployment rate | 4.0 | 0.1 | 0.6 | |
Underutilisation rate | 10.7 | 0.3 | 1.4 | |
Employment rate | 69.0 | -0.1 | -0.4 | |
Labour force participation rate | 71.9 | -0.1 | 0.1 | |
(000) | Percent | |||
Unemployed | 122 | 2.7 | 22.5 | |
Underutilised | 337 | 3.6 | 18.4 | |
Employed | 2,939 | 0.4 | 2.4 | |
Working-age population | 4,258 | 0.6 | 3.0 | |
Wages at a glance (not seasonally adjusted) | Index | Percent | ||
Wage inflation (salary and wage rates, | All sectors | 1370 | 1.0 | 4.3 |
Private sector | 1373 | 1.0 | 3.9 | |
Public sector | 1368 | 1.5 | 5.7 | |
LCI analytical unadjusted | 1652 | 1.5 | 5.9 | |
Dollars | Percent | |||
Average ordinary time hourly earnings | 40.84 | 1.1 | 6.9 | |
Hours at a glance (seasonally adjusted) | Hours | Percent | ||
Average weekly paid hours for FTEs (QES) | Ordinary time | 37.99 | 0.2 | -0.5 |
Total | 38.66 | 0.1 | -0.7 | |
Hours (millions) | Percent | |||
Total weekly paid hours (QES) | 74.9 | -0.5 | 3.3 | |
Total actual weekly hours worked (HLFS) | 99.0 | 0.8 | 1.5 | |
| 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 was 4.0 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with 3.9 percent last quarter.
- For men, the unemployment rate was 3.7 percent, compared with 3.8 percent last quarter.
- For women, the unemployment rate was 4.3 percent, compared with 4.1 percent last quarter.
The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed people rose to 122,000 (up 3,000).
Underutilisation
The seasonally adjusted underutilisation rate was 10.7 percent this quarter, compared with 10.4 percent last quarter.
- For men, the underutilisation was 8.6 percent, compared with 8.7 percent last quarter.
- For women, the underutilisation rate was 13.0 percent, compared with 12.3 percent last quarter.
In the December 2023 quarter, the number of people who were underutilised rose to 337,000, as 12,000 more women were underutilised. The number of underutilised men was unchanged from the previous quarter.
| Quarter | 15-24 |
| Dec-04 | 22.5 |
| Dec-05 | 21.3 |
| Dec-06 | 25.1 |
| Dec-07 | 22 |
| Dec-08 | 28.2 |
| Dec-09 | 37 |
| Dec-10 | 33.8 |
| Dec-11 | 33.7 |
| Dec-12 | 37.6 |
| Dec-13 | 35.5 |
| Dec-14 | 33 |
| Dec-15 | 31.6 |
| Dec-16 | 32.4 |
| Dec-17 | 32 |
| Dec-18 | 33.8 |
| Dec-19 | 27.9 |
| Dec-20 | 32.4 |
| Dec-21 | 27 |
| Dec-22 | 27.2 |
| Dec-23 | 32.5 |
| 20.8 | 24.2 |
|---|---|
| 19.3 | 23.2 |
| 23.1 | 27 |
| 20.2 | 23.9 |
| 25.9 | 30.5 |
| 34.7 | 39.3 |
| 32 | 35.7 |
| 31.6 | 35.7 |
| 35.1 | 40 |
| 33.7 | 37.3 |
| 31.1 | 34.8 |
| 29.7 | 33.6 |
| 30.7 | 34.2 |
| 30.1 | 33.9 |
| 31.8 | 35.8 |
| 26.4 | 29.5 |
| 30.5 | 34.3 |
| 24.9 | 29 |
| 25.5 | 28.8 |
| 30.6 | 34.4 |
| Quarter | 25+ |
| Dec-04 | 7 |
| Dec-05 | 6.6 |
| Dec-06 | 6.9 |
| Dec-07 | 6.3 |
| Dec-08 | 7.5 |
| Dec-09 | 10.2 |
| Dec-10 | 9.8 |
| Dec-11 | 9.6 |
| Dec-12 | 10.4 |
| Dec-13 | 10.1 |
| Dec-14 | 9.6 |
| Dec-15 | 8.9 |
| Dec-16 | 8.8 |
| Dec-17 | 8.7 |
| Dec-18 | 8.6 |
| Dec-19 | 7.2 |
| Dec-20 | 8.6 |
| Dec-21 | 6.3 |
| Dec-22 | 6.4 |
| Dec-23 | 7 |
| 6.5 | 7.5 |
|---|---|
| 6.1 | 7.1 |
| 6.4 | 7.4 |
| 5.9 | 6.7 |
| 7.1 | 8 |
| 9.6 | 10.8 |
| 9.3 | 10.4 |
| 9.1 | 10.1 |
| 9.8 | 11 |
| 9.5 | 10.7 |
| 9.1 | 10.1 |
| 8.4 | 9.4 |
| 8.3 | 9.3 |
| 8.2 | 9.2 |
| 8.1 | 9.1 |
| 6.7 | 7.6 |
| 8.1 | 9.1 |
| 5.9 | 6.7 |
| 6 | 6.8 |
| 6.6 | 7.5 |
The underutilisation rate (not seasonally adjusted) for people aged 15-24 years was 32.5 percent in the December 2023 quarter, up 5.3 percentage points from 27.2 percent in the December 2022 quarter.
The number of underutilised people increased 53,500 over the year, nearly 60 percent (31,300) of whom were aged 15-24 years.
Employment
The seasonally adjusted employment rate was 69.0 percent, compared with 69.2 percent last quarter.
- For men, the employment rate was 73.6 percent, compared with 73.9 percent last quarter.
- For women, the employment rate was 64.5 percent, no change from last quarter.
| Quarter | Men | Women | Total |
| Mar-86 | 77.2 | 52 | 64.2 |
| Jun-86 | 76.8 | 51.9 | 64 |
| Sep-86 | 76.4 | 52.1 | 63.9 |
| Dec-86 | 75.6 | 51.9 | 63.4 |
| Mar-87 | 76.1 | 52.3 | 63.9 |
| Jun-87 | 75.4 | 52.4 | 63.6 |
| Sep-87 | 75.3 | 52.4 | 63.6 |
| Dec-87 | 74.4 | 52.5 | 63.2 |
| Mar-88 | 73.1 | 51.9 | 62.2 |
| Jun-88 | 72.2 | 51.3 | 61.5 |
| Sep-88 | 70.8 | 50.7 | 60.5 |
| Dec-88 | 70.6 | 50.6 | 60.3 |
| Mar-89 | 70 | 49.6 | 59.5 |
| Jun-89 | 69.1 | 48.9 | 58.7 |
| Sep-89 | 69 | 49.1 | 58.8 |
| Dec-89 | 69 | 49.2 | 58.8 |
| Mar-90 | 68.6 | 49.8 | 58.9 |
| Jun-90 | 68.3 | 50.6 | 59.2 |
| Sep-90 | 68 | 49.9 | 58.7 |
| Dec-90 | 67.4 | 49.5 | 58.2 |
| Mar-91 | 66.5 | 49.4 | 57.7 |
| Jun-91 | 65.9 | 49.2 | 57.3 |
| Sep-91 | 65.2 | 48.8 | 56.8 |
| Dec-91 | 64.7 | 48.6 | 56.4 |
| Mar-92 | 65.2 | 48.6 | 56.7 |
| Jun-92 | 65 | 49 | 56.8 |
| Sep-92 | 64.7 | 48.5 | 56.4 |
| Dec-92 | 64.6 | 48.8 | 56.5 |
| Mar-93 | 65.1 | 48.8 | 56.7 |
| Jun-93 | 65.5 | 48.6 | 56.8 |
| Sep-93 | 65.6 | 49.4 | 57.2 |
| Dec-93 | 66.1 | 49.6 | 57.6 |
| Mar-94 | 66.3 | 50.2 | 58 |
| Jun-94 | 67 | 50.3 | 58.4 |
| Sep-94 | 67.6 | 50.8 | 59 |
| Dec-94 | 67.9 | 51.7 | 59.6 |
| Mar-95 | 68.8 | 51.7 | 60 |
| Jun-95 | 69.3 | 52 | 60.4 |
| Sep-95 | 69.5 | 52.5 | 60.8 |
| Dec-95 | 69.8 | 52.6 | 61 |
| Mar-96 | 69.7 | 53.1 | 61.2 |
| Jun-96 | 69.8 | 53.8 | 61.6 |
| Sep-96 | 70 | 54.1 | 61.8 |
| Dec-96 | 69.7 | 53.3 | 61.2 |
| Mar-97 | 69.3 | 53.2 | 61.1 |
| Jun-97 | 69.4 | 53.4 | 61.2 |
| Sep-97 | 69.2 | 53.1 | 61 |
| Dec-97 | 69 | 52.8 | 60.7 |
| Mar-98 | 68.6 | 52.8 | 60.4 |
| Jun-98 | 68 | 52.5 | 60 |
| Sep-98 | 67.5 | 52.7 | 59.9 |
| Dec-98 | 67.2 | 52.5 | 59.6 |
| Mar-99 | 67.6 | 53.3 | 60.3 |
| Jun-99 | 67.8 | 53.4 | 60.4 |
| Sep-99 | 68 | 53.4 | 60.5 |
| Dec-99 | 68.9 | 53.6 | 61 |
| Mar-00 | 68.6 | 53.7 | 60.9 |
| Jun-00 | 68.7 | 53.4 | 60.8 |
| Sep-00 | 69.1 | 54.2 | 61.4 |
| Dec-00 | 69.4 | 54.6 | 61.8 |
| Mar-01 | 69.4 | 54.6 | 61.8 |
| Jun-01 | 69.5 | 55.4 | 62.2 |
| Sep-01 | 70 | 54.8 | 62.2 |
| Dec-01 | 70 | 55.7 | 62.6 |
| Mar-02 | 71.1 | 55.7 | 63.1 |
| Jun-02 | 70.8 | 56 | 63.2 |
| Sep-02 | 70.5 | 55.6 | 62.8 |
| Dec-02 | 70.4 | 55.8 | 62.9 |
| Mar-03 | 70.4 | 55.7 | 62.8 |
| Jun-03 | 70.4 | 56 | 63 |
| Sep-03 | 70.7 | 56.8 | 63.5 |
| Dec-03 | 70.4 | 56.6 | 63.3 |
| Mar-04 | 71 | 56.6 | 63.6 |
| Jun-04 | 71.9 | 56.2 | 63.8 |
| Sep-04 | 71.9 | 57.3 | 64.4 |
| Dec-04 | 72.5 | 58.2 | 65.1 |
| Mar-05 | 72.2 | 57.9 | 64.8 |
| Jun-05 | 72 | 58.2 | 64.8 |
| Sep-05 | 72.7 | 58.7 | 65.5 |
| Dec-05 | 72.7 | 58.3 | 65.3 |
| Mar-06 | 72.8 | 58.9 | 65.6 |
| Jun-06 | 73 | 59.2 | 65.9 |
| Sep-06 | 72.8 | 58.6 | 65.5 |
| Dec-06 | 72.9 | 58.2 | 65.3 |
| Mar-07 | 72.9 | 59.2 | 65.8 |
| Jun-07 | 73 | 59.5 | 66 |
| Sep-07 | 73.2 | 58.7 | 65.7 |
| Dec-07 | 72.8 | 59.8 | 66.1 |
| Mar-08 | 72.6 | 59.5 | 65.8 |
| Jun-08 | 72.3 | 59.6 | 65.7 |
| Sep-08 | 71.8 | 59.8 | 65.6 |
| Dec-08 | 72.4 | 59.9 | 65.9 |
| Mar-09 | 70.6 | 58.8 | 64.5 |
| Jun-09 | 70.8 | 58.3 | 64.3 |
| Sep-09 | 69.2 | 58.2 | 63.5 |
| Dec-09 | 69.3 | 57.8 | 63.3 |
| Mar-10 | 69.6 | 57.6 | 63.4 |
| Jun-10 | 69.3 | 57.7 | 63.3 |
| Sep-10 | 70.3 | 57.6 | 63.7 |
| Dec-10 | 69.4 | 57.5 | 63.3 |
| Mar-11 | 69.9 | 58.1 | 63.8 |
| Jun-11 | 69.7 | 58.4 | 63.8 |
| Sep-11 | 70.1 | 58 | 63.9 |
| Dec-11 | 69.6 | 58.1 | 63.7 |
| Mar-12 | 69.8 | 58.1 | 63.7 |
| Jun-12 | 69.2 | 58.4 | 63.6 |
| Sep-12 | 68.7 | 58.3 | 63.3 |
| Dec-12 | 68.7 | 58.1 | 63.3 |
| Mar-13 | 68.9 | 58.1 | 63.3 |
| Jun-13 | 69.1 | 58.1 | 63.4 |
| Sep-13 | 69.9 | 58.8 | 64.1 |
| Dec-13 | 70.4 | 58.8 | 64.4 |
| Mar-14 | 70.6 | 59.3 | 64.8 |
| Jun-14 | 70.8 | 58.9 | 64.7 |
| Sep-14 | 70.6 | 59.6 | 64.9 |
| Dec-14 | 71 | 60.2 | 65.5 |
| Mar-15 | 71.2 | 60.2 | 65.5 |
| Jun-15 | 71.1 | 59.7 | 65.3 |
| Sep-15 | 70.1 | 59.2 | 64.5 |
| Dec-15 | 70.5 | 59.6 | 64.9 |
| Mar-16 | 70.7 | 60.2 | 65.3 |
| Jun-16 | 71.9 | 61.2 | 66.5 |
| Sep-16 | 72.4 | 61.1 | 66.6 |
| Dec-16 | 72.5 | 61.7 | 67 |
| Mar-17 | 73.2 | 61.8 | 67.4 |
| Jun-17 | 72.7 | 61.5 | 67 |
| Sep-17 | 73.5 | 62.4 | 67.8 |
| Dec-17 | 73.5 | 62.6 | 68 |
| Mar-18 | 73.4 | 62.8 | 68 |
| Jun-18 | 73.1 | 62.9 | 67.9 |
| Sep-18 | 73.2 | 63.4 | 68.2 |
| Dec-18 | 72.7 | 63.2 | 67.9 |
| Mar-19 | 72.5 | 62.9 | 67.6 |
| Jun-19 | 72.5 | 63.1 | 67.8 |
| Sep-19 | 72.6 | 63 | 67.7 |
| Dec-19 | 72.5 | 62.7 | 67.5 |
| Mar-20 | 72.8 | 62.8 | 67.7 |
| Jun-20 | 72.4 | 62.1 | 67.2 |
| Sep-20 | 71.7 | 61.2 | 66.4 |
| Dec-20 | 72 | 61.6 | 66.8 |
| Mar-21 | 72.1 | 62.3 | 67.1 |
| Jun-21 | 72.7 | 63 | 67.8 |
| Sep-21 | 73.1 | 64.5 | 68.7 |
| Dec-21 | 73.3 | 64.4 | 68.8 |
| Mar-22 | 73.3 | 64.1 | 68.6 |
| Jun-22 | 73 | 64.2 | 68.5 |
| Sep-22 | 73.8 | 64.9 | 69.3 |
| Dec-22 | 74 | 64.9 | 69.4 |
| Mar-23 | 74 | 65.2 | 69.6 |
| Jun-23 | 74.3 | 65.4 | 69.8 |
| Sep-23 | 73.9 | 64.5 | 69.2 |
| Dec-23 | 73.6 | 64.5 | 69 |
In the December 2023 quarter, 12,000 more people were employed than last quarter, up to 2,939,000.
- 5,000 more men were employed.
- 7,000 more women were employed.
Labour force participation
The seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate was 71.9 percent, compared with 72.0 percent last quarter.
- For men, the labour force participation rate was 76.5 percent, compared with 76.7 percent last quarter.
- For women, the labour force participation rate was 67.4 percent, compared with 67.3 percent last quarter.
There were 10,000 more people not in the labour force (NILF), up to 1,196,000.
- 9,000 more men were NILF.
Working-age population
In the December 2023 quarter, the seasonally adjusted working-age population increased by 25,000 people to reach 4,258,000.
Annually, the seasonally adjusted working-age population grew by 3.0 percent in the December 2023 quarter, the highest annual change recorded by the HLFS.
The latest working-age population estimates are based on 2018 Census data and are updated quarterly using estimates of births, deaths, and net migration.
Why migration estimates change has more information on how migration estimates are calculated and revised.
Youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET)
In the December 2023 quarter, the seasonally adjusted proportion of people aged 15-24 years who were NEET was 12.4 percent, compared with 12.1 percent last quarter.
- The NEET rate for young men was 10.9 percent, down from 11.7 percent.
- The NEET rate for young women was 14.0 percent, up from 12.5 percent.
The number of young people who were NEET rose by 3,000 over the quarter.
Wages
In the year to the December 2023 quarter, average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the QES increased to $40.84 (up 6.9 percent). Average weekly earnings (including overtime) for full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) in the QES also increased annually – up 6.1 percent to $1,588.
The labour cost index (LCI) all salary and wage rates measure (including overtime) increased 4.3 percent in the year to the December 2023 quarter, while the unadjusted LCI increased 5.9 percent.
Average hourly earnings up 6.9 percent annually has more information about growth in wages.
Data quality
Quarterly Employment Survey data quality
Collection response rates for the previous five quarters are:
- December 2023 quarter – 78.6 percent
- September 2023 quarter – 83.6 percent
- June 2023 quarter – 87.3 percent
- March 2023 quarter – 87.2 percent
- December 2022 quarter – 82.6 percent.
Declining response rates result in a higher level of imputation. Since response rates dipped below 80 percent this quarter, we applied additional quality assessment checks to understand if our imputation model still holds.
We conducted the checks at the total level for our key variables as well as at the industry level to check for any bias in the non-responding units.
We found no concerns at the total level and therefore our overall national values can be used with confidence. However, our checks indicated an increased level of non-response bias in the forestry and mining, construction, and retail trade industries. Therefore, there may be added variance within these industries.
For more information about QES data quality please get in touch with [email protected].
Quarterly Employment Survey seasonal adjustment methodology update
In Quarterly Employment Survey: December 2023 quarter we implemented changes to the seasonal adjustment methodology to automatically detect outlier quarters for special treatment. This systematic approach for seasonal adjustment is being implemented across Stats NZ following the impact of COVID-19. We applied this treatment to the entire time series for all seasonally adjusted QES series-as a result our identification of quarterly outliers may have changed from previous methodology.
Seasonal adjustment and automatic outliers in time series after COVID-19 describes this treatment.
Additional changes have been made to the settings used for the QES in the X13-SEATS-ARIMA (X13) program Stats NZ uses for seasonal adjustment. These changes ensure the use of X13 for the QES is consistent with other uses of X13 across Stats NZ.
The changes described above resulted in updates to several seasonally adjusted and trend series.
Quarterly Employment Survey: December 2023 – updates to seasonal adjustment, available from download data above, has a summary of the updates. There is no impact to the actual series, including the headline measures of average weekly earnings and average hourly earnings.
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 2023 quarter – Period specific information – DataInfo+ includes data quality notes for the December 2023 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 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
Isaac Paterson
04 931 4600
[email protected]
ISSN 2422-8699
Next release
Labour market statistics: March 2024 quarter will be released on 1 May 2024.
