WELLINGTON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's unemployment rate fell to 4.8 percent in the June 2017 quarter, down from 4.9 percent in the March 2017 quarter, the lowest since December 2008 when the global financial crisis entered its peak, the country's statistics department Stats NZ said on Wednesday.
In the June 2017 quarter, 3,000 fewer people were unemployed, reflecting a robust labor market and increasing employment opportunities, labor market and households senior manager Diane Ramsay said in a statement.
The unemployment rate for women fell to 4.9 percent, with 10,000 fewer women unemployed, the lowest it has been since March 2009. In contrast, the male unemployment rate rose to 4.7 percent, with 7,000 more men unemployed, Ramsay said.
Unemployed people are those who are available to work, and who had either actively sought work or had a new job to start within the next four weeks.
Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Paul Goldsmith said that strong job growth continues, with 76,000 new jobs over the past year and 181,000 new jobs over the past two years. Labor force participation remains high at 70 percent.
According to Stats NZ, the employment rate fell to 66.7 percent, with 4,000 fewer people employed, in the June 2017 quarter, down from 67.1 percent in the March 2017 quarter. The drop in employment follows six quarters in which employment rose.
New Zealand's working-age population increased 0.5 percent in the June 2017 quarter to 3.8 million. This is the first quarter since September 2015 that employment growth was below population growth, according to the department.
In the year to the June 2017 quarter, the labor cost index increased 1.7 percent, up from 1.6 percent in the year to March 2017, Stats NZ said, adding that the recent minimum wage increase contributed to wage inflation in the latest quarter.
