New Zealand's Q1 Unemployment Rate Expected to Stay Steady, ANZ Says

-- New Zealand's first-quarter unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 5.4%, slightly lower than the previous forecast of 5.5%, according to a report by ANZ released on Wednesday.

ANZ increased its quarterly employment growth forecast by 0.1 percentage points to 0.3%, with employment growth appearing to have held onto a little more momentum in March than previously anticipated, the report said.

Upcoming data on hours paid and hours worked may indicate some signal around the risks to the first-quarter GDP forecast of 0.8% quarter on quarter, though the recent oil shock likely won't show up yet since the labor market is typically the last sector to react to changing economic conditions.

First-quarter labor market data is expected to show that the market had enough excess capacity to act as a buffer against the recent oil shock, limiting the risk of labor costs driving up inflation in the near term.