Household Labour Force Survey - June 1999 quarter - Unemployment Rate at 7.0 Per
Cent
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.0 per cent in the
June 1999 quarter according to Statistics New Zealand's Household
Labour Force Survey, the official measure of unemployment. This rate
is the lowest since December 1997 and has decreased from 7.2 per cent
in the March 1999 quarter and 7.6 per cent a year ago.
Labour market conditions have remained largely unchanged from the
March to June quarters. Employment was steady, unemployment declined
slightly and the number of people not in the labour force increased.
These movements meant that the unemployment rate improved slightly
while the labour force participation rate dropped to 65.2 per cent
from 65.4 per cent over the quarter.
Unemployment
Seasonally adjusted figures show an estimated 131,000 people were
unemployed in the June 1999 quarter, of which 74,000 were male and
57,000 were female. The total number of unemployed was 3,000 lower
than in March 1999 and 11,000 lower than in the same quarter a year
ago.
Employment
On a seasonally adjusted basis, 1,742,000 people were estimated to be
employed in the June 1999 quarter. The number of people employed
remained at the same level as in March 1999 and was 21,000 higher
than in June 1998. The increase in employment over the year is made
up of an 18,000 increase in female employment and a 2,000 increase in
male employment.
The seasonally adjusted number of people in full-time employment was
estimated at 1,324,000 with 414,000 estimated to be in part-time
employment. The number of people in full-time employment was
unchanged from the previous quarter and increased by 4,000 from the
June 1998 quarter. The number of people in part-time employment
declined by 6,000 from the March 1999 quarter and increased by 16,000
from the June 1998 quarter.
Unemployment rates by ethnic group
In the June 1999 quarter the unadjusted unemployment rates stood at
5.1 per cent for European/Pakeha, 18.2 per cent for Mäori, 12.8 per
cent for Pacific Islands and 11.9 per cent for the 'Other' ethnic
group.
Age group
In the June 1999 quarter the youngest age groups (15-19-year-olds and
20-24-year-olds) had the highest unadjusted unemployment rates at
17.1 per cent and 12.3 per cent respectively. Those in the older age
groups had the lowest unemployment rates. Both the 55-59-year-old age
group and the 60-64-year-old age group had an unemployment rate of
3.9 per cent.
Employment by industry
Comparing the June 1999 quarter with a year ago, there was one
significant change in employment by industry group. The Agriculture,
Forestry and Fishing group experienced an increase of 20,500 in the
numbers of people employed. This increase was evenly spread between
males and females.