WELLINGTON, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent in the September 2019 quarter, up from 3.9 percent last quarter, New Zealand statistic department Stats NZ said on Wednesday.
The rise in the unemployment rate comes after a drop to an 11-year low in the June 2019 quarter, while the seasonally adjusted underutilisation rate fell to 10.4 percent.
"Labour market data is most useful when placed in the context of a time series," Stats NZ senior manager Paul Pascoe said.
Although the unemployment rate has returned to the level seen in the March 2019 quarter, it has largely been tracking down since late 2012.
Despite the quarterly rise in unemployment, the underutilisation rate, which is a broader measure of spare capacity in the labour market, has fallen to the lowest level in over eleven years, Pascoe said.
"The fall in underutilisation this quarter was driven by a drop in the number of underemployed people, those who work part time but are looking to work more hours."
Overall, the seasonally adjusted number of people who were underutilised fell by 18,000, to 295,000 in the September 2019 quarter. This is the first time since the March 2009 quarter that the number of underutilised people has been below 300,000.
