New Zealand’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up to 3.4% in the March 2023 quarter up from 3.2% in the same period a year ago, according to research from Statistics New Zealand.

When compared to the previous quarter (December 2022 quarter) the unemployment rate was unchanged.

The underutilisation rate, broad measure of spare labour capacity that includes those unemployed, underemployed, and in the potential labour force, decreased to 9.0% from 9.3% last quarter (revised) and also from 9.3% in March 2022.

“Unemployment and underutilisation rates, as measured by the Household Labour Force Survey, have been sitting at or near record lows for more than a year,” work and wellbeing statistics senior manager Becky Collett said.

The employment rate stood at 69.5%, up 0.2% over the quarter and up 0.9% over the year.

In the March 2023 quarter, the labour force participation rate increased to 72.0% from 70.9% the year prior and from 71.7% the quarter prior.

In the March 2023 quarter, the seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate for women increased to 67.7%, the highest rate since the series began in 1986. This was up from 67.2% the quarter before and up from 70.9%.

The seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate for men stood at 76.4%, unchanged from the previous quarter and up from 75.6% the year prior.

“Where men’s labour force participation rates have remained fairly stable, women’s rates have been steadily increasing over the last 30 years, narrowing the gap in engagement between men and women in New Zealand’s workforce,” Collett said.

Meanwhile, in the March 2023 quarter, all salary and wage rates (including overtime) as measured by the labour cost index, increased 4.3% over the year, compared with 4.1% in the year to the December 2022 quarter.