New Zealand second quarter employment data
Unemployment, 5.1% BEAT
- expected 5.3%, prior 5.2%
Employment change q/q, +2.4%
- expected +0.6%, prior +1.2% Big BEAT
Employment change y/y, +4.5%% Big BEAT
- expected +2.3%, prior +2.0%
Participation rate, 69.7%
- expected 68.8%, prior 68.7%
Commentary from Stats NZ watering down the good results:
- Jobs growth overstated after methodology change
- "The redeveloped HLFS presents a more-accurate and complete picture of the New Zealand labour market. The latest estimates are more in line with the current state of the labour force. However, comparisons with previous estimates will not always be straightforward and should be made with caution," Mr Gordon said. Employment change comparisons will be clearer in the coming year as more data becomes available.
Also:
- For the first time, we include an official measure of the underutilisation of labour in New Zealand. This measure provides an indication of the potential labour supply and includes: people who are employed but want to work more hours (underemployed), those who want a job but are not currently actively looking or available to start work, and people who are unemployed by the official definition. A total of 342,000 people were underutilised in the June 2016 quarter, which equates to an underutilisation rate of 12.7 percent.
- "In future we will present this measure along with the unemployment measure as a way to better understand the untapped potential in the labour market,"
--
Also.. more NZ data,
PPI for Q2
- PPI Input prices: 0.9% q/q (prior -1%)
- PPI Output prices: 0.2% q/q (prior of -0.2%)
--
Overnight re NZ: New Zealand GDT price index 12.7% vs 6.6% prior