NZ's labour force growth outpacing employment

Over the past year, NZ GDP growth was seen slow and business confidence falling to low levels. Together, these factors have seen businesses reining back hiring.

In light of these developments, the Household Labour Force Survey will show that employment in the economy grew by 0.4% over the September quarter. This would result in annual employment growth softening to 2.6%. While that's still healthy, it's well down on the above 3% rates we were seeing over the past year.

But although strong population growth has been boosting labour force participation, there can be bumps, like the unexpected pull back seen in June, which can throw estimates of the unemployment rate around.

"The Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) would be watched as a cross check on the health of the labour market. The QES will show that the number of full-time equivalent employees grew by 0.7% in the September quarter. This follows a 0.8% fall in June, and will leave annual growth in FTEs at 2.4%", says Westpac.