New Zealand NZD

New Zealand Unemployment Rate

Impact:
High

Latest Release:

Date:
Big Surprise:
-0.2%
| NZD
Actual:
5.1%
Forecast: 5.3%
Previous/Revision:
5.1%
Period: Q1

Next Release:

Date:
Forecast: 5.2%
Period: Q2
What Does It Measure?
The New Zealand Unemployment Rate explicitly measures the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed and actively seeking employment. This key indicator primarily focuses on labor market conditions, assessing factors such as job availability and the overall health of the economy.
Frequency
The Unemployment Rate is released quarterly, providing insights into the job market based on labor force surveys, and is typically published in the second month following the end of the quarter.
Why Do Traders Care?
Traders closely monitor the unemployment rate as it has significant implications for economic growth and monetary policy, influencing trading in currencies, equities, and bonds. A decreasing unemployment rate often signals economic strength, leading to bullish sentiment in financial markets, while an increase generally suggests economic weakness, potentially causing bearish reactions.
What Is It Derived From?
The unemployment rate is derived from labor force surveys conducted by Statistics New Zealand, which include a representative sample of households across the country. The data collection methodology ensures a comprehensive representation of various demographics and is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed individuals actively seeking work by the total labor force.
Description
Preliminary reports on the unemployment rate are based on early estimates and are subject to revision upon the release of final figures, which provide a more accurate reflection of the true labor market conditions after accounting for adjustments. The unemployment rate is measured on a year-over-year (YoY) basis, comparing the current figure to that of the same quarter in the previous year, which helps in identifying long-term trends and mitigating seasonal fluctuations.
Additional Notes
The unemployment rate serves as a lagging indicator, reflecting economic conditions that have already occurred, and is often correlated with other economic measures such as GDP growth and consumer spending. In New Zealand, this indicator is critical for understanding broader trends within the labor market and can be compared to global unemployment trends to gauge the relative performance of the New Zealand economy.
Bullish or Bearish for Currency and Stocks
Higher than expected: Bullish for NZD, Bullish for Stocks. Lower than expected: Bearish for NZD, Bearish for Stocks. Dovish tone: Signaling lower rates or economic support, is usually good for the NZD but bad for Stocks due to cheaper borrowing costs.

Legend

High Potential Impact
This event has a strong potential to move markets significantly. If the 'Actual' value differs enough from the forecast or if the 'Previous' value is significantly revised, it signals new information that markets may rapidly adjust to.

Medium Potential Impact
This event may cause moderate market movement, especially if the 'Actual' deviates from the forecast or there's a notable revision to the 'Previous' value.

Low Potential Impact
This event is unlikely to affect market pricing unless there's an unexpected surprise or a major revision to prior data.

Surprise - Currency May Strengthen
Actual deviated from Forecast on a medium or high impact event and historically could strengthen the currency.

Surprise - Currency May Weaken
Actual deviated from Forcast on a medium or high impact event and historically could weaken the currency.

Big Surprise - Currency More Likely To Strengthen
'Actual' deviated from 'Forecast' more than 75% of historical deviations on a medium or high impact event and may likely strengthen the currency.

Big Surprise - Currency More Likely To Weaken
'Actual' deviated from 'Forecast' more than 75% of historical deviations on a medium or high impact event and may likely weaken the currency

Green Number Better than forecast for the currency (or previous revise better)
Red Number Worse than forecast for the currency (or previous revise better)
Hawkish Supports higher interest rates to fight inflation, strengthening the currency but weighing on stocks.
Dovish Favors lower rates to boost growth, weakening the currency but lifting stocks.
Date Time Actual Forecast Previous Surprise
5.1%
5.3%
5.1%
-0.2%
5.1%
5.1%
4.8%
4.8%
5%
4.6%
-0.2%
4.6%
4.7%
4.4%
-0.1%
4.3%
4.2%
4%
0.1%
4%
4.2%
3.9%
-0.2%
3.9%
3.9%
3.6%
3.6%
3.5%
3.4%
0.1%
3.4%
3.5%
3.4%
-0.1%
3.4%
3.3%
3.3%
0.1%
3.3%
3.2%
3.3%
0.1%
3.3%
3.1%
3.2%
0.2%
3.2%
3.2%
3.2%
3.2%
3.4%
3.4%
-0.2%
3.4%
3.9%
4%
-0.5%
4%
4.5%
4.7%
-0.5%
4.7%
4.9%
4.9%
-0.2%
4.9%
5.6%
5.3%
-0.7%
5.3%
5.4%
4%
-0.1%
4%
5.8%
4.2%
-1.8%
4.2%
4.3%
4%
-0.1%
4%
4.2%
4.2%
-0.2%
4.2%
4.1%
3.9%
0.1%
3.9%
4.3%
4.2%
-0.4%
4.2%
4.2%
4.3%
4.3%
4.1%
4%
0.2%
3.9%
4.5%
4.4%
-0.6%
4.5%
4.4%
4.4%
0.1%
4.4%
4.4%
4.5%
4.5%
4.6%
4.6%
-0.1%
4.6%
4.7%
4.8%
-0.1%
4.8%
4.8%
4.9%
4.9%
5.2%
5.2%
-0.3%
5.2%
4.8%
4.9%
0.4%
4.9%
5.1%
5%
-0.2%
5.1%
5.3%
5.2%
-0.2%
5.7%
5.5%
5.4%
0.2%
5.3%
6.1%
6%
-0.8%
6%
6%
5.9%
5.9%
5.9%
5.8%
5.8%
5.5%
5.8%
0.3%