Household Labour Force Survey - June 1999 quarter
Household Labour Force Survey - June 1999 quarter -
Unemployment Rate at 7.0 Per
Cent
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.0
per cent in the
June 1999 quarter according to
Statistics New Zealand's Household
Labour Force Survey,
the official measure of unemployment. This rate
is the
lowest since December 1997 and has decreased from 7.2 per
cent
in the March 1999 quarter and 7.6 per cent a year
ago.
Labour market conditions have remained largely
unchanged from the
March to June quarters. Employment
was steady, unemployment declined
slightly and the
number of people not in the labour force increased.
These movements meant that the unemployment rate improved
slightly
while the labour force participation rate
dropped to 65.2 per cent
from 65.4 per cent over the
quarter.
Unemployment
Seasonally adjusted figures
show an estimated 131,000 people were
unemployed in the
June 1999 quarter, of which 74,000 were male and
57,000
were female. The total number of unemployed was 3,000
lower
than in March 1999 and 11,000 lower than in the
same quarter a year
ago.
Employment
On a
seasonally adjusted basis, 1,742,000 people were estimated
to be
employed in the June 1999 quarter. The number of
people employed
remained at the same level as in March
1999 and was 21,000 higher
than in June 1998. The
increase in employment over the year is made
up of an
18,000 increase in female employment and a 2,000 increase
in
male employment.
The seasonally adjusted number
of people in full-time employment was
estimated at
1,324,000 with 414,000 estimated to be in part-time
employment. The number of people in full-time employment
was
unchanged from the previous quarter and increased by
4,000 from the
June 1998 quarter. The number of people
in part-time employment
declined by 6,000 from the March
1999 quarter and increased by 16,000
from the June 1998
quarter.
Unemployment rates by ethnic group
In the
June 1999 quarter the unadjusted unemployment rates stood
at
5.1 per cent for European/Pakeha, 18.2 per cent for
Mäori, 12.8 per
cent for Pacific Islands and 11.9 per
cent for the 'Other' ethnic
group.
Age group
In
the June 1999 quarter the youngest age groups
(15-19-year-olds and
20-24-year-olds) had the highest
unadjusted unemployment rates at
17.1 per cent and 12.3
per cent respectively. Those in the older age
groups had
the lowest unemployment rates. Both the 55-59-year-old
age
group and the 60-64-year-old age group had an
unemployment rate of
3.9 per cent.
Employment by industry
Comparing the June 1999 quarter with a year
ago, there was one
significant change in employment by
industry group. The Agriculture,
Forestry and Fishing
group experienced an increase of 20,500 in the
numbers
of people employed. This increase was evenly spread
between
males and females.