Story perspectives
New Zealand Unemployment Hits Decade High at 5.4%
2/4/2026
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Story summary
- The unemployment rate in New Zealand rose to 5.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, the highest in a decade, according to Statistics New Zealand.
- Employment increased by 0.5% in Q4 2025, ahead of economists' expectation of a 0.3% rise.
- The participation rate rose to 70.5% from 70.3% in Q4 2025.
- Following the data release, the New Zealand dollar/United States dollar (NZD/USD) pair traded 0.04% lower at 0.6045.
