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New Zealand's June Quarter Unemployment Data Shows Highest Reading Since September 2015, Westpac Says

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The rise in unemployment in the June quarter in New Zealand was above market and central bank expectations and the highest reading since September 2015, Westpac said in a Wednesday note.

The unemployment rate in the country rose 5.6% in the June quarter, up 0.2 percentage points from the March quarter and up 0.4 percentage points from the June quarter of 2025. The seasonally adjusted employment rate was about 67%, unchanged from the previous quarter.

This followed an upward revision in the March quarter to 5.4%.

The employment measures data was mixed and supports Westpac's expectation of soft growth in activity over the quarter, per the note.

The data points to a stabilization rather than an accelerating in wage pressures, the bank said, noting that the distribution of pay increases was unchanged from last quarter. More employers are citing the cost of living as a reason for increasing pay rates, while fewer are citing the need to attract or retain workers, the lender added.

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