Photo: RNZ / Quin Tauetau
Unemployment has risen to 5.1 percent, the highest level since 2020.
The latest figure, released on Wednesday morning,.
Consensus economist forecasts were for the unemployment rate to rise to 5.1 percent in the three months ended December, from 4.8 percent in the previous quarter.
ANZ economist Henry Russell earlier this week said the labour market was a lagging indicator of the economy.
"While the New Zealand economy appears to have bottomed out and is now recovering, the labour market is still playing catch-up to the past slowdown in activity."
The second half of last year saw loss of many hundreds of jobs in government restructuring and industrial layoffs, with estimates the economy has shed as many as 30,000 jobs in the past year, while the number of jobs advertised has been more than 20 percent lower than a year ago.
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