WELLINGTON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's unemployment rate reached 3.2 percent in the December 2021 quarter while the underutilization rate stayed at 9.2 percent, the country's statistics department Stats NZ said on Wednesday.
The unemployment rate remained low in the last quarter of 2021, down to 3.2 percent, from 3.3 percent the previous quarter, while the underutilization rate did not change at 9.2 percent, Stats NZ said.
"The labor market continued to show the tightness we saw in the September 2021 quarter, with both unemployment and underutilization rates remaining low," work and wellbeing statistics senior manager Becky Collett said in a statement.
This quarter's unemployment rate is now the lowest rate recorded since the series began in 1986, Collett said.
The number of employed people remained relatively steady over the quarter, rising by 3,000 people to about 2.83 million. This was a much more modest increase compared with last quarter, statistics show.
In the December 2021 quarter, 46.3 percent of employed people who were asked about their perceived job security thought there was almost no chance of involuntarily losing their job or business in the next 12 months, up from 42.5 percent last year, Stats NZ said.
"Some of the largest increases in employment over the year came from young people," Collett said, adding more 15- to 19-year-olds were employed in retail trade and accommodation and food services over the course of 2021.
The labor force participation rate also remained high, at 71.1 percent, he said.
Meanwhile, average ordinary time hourly earnings rose 3.8 percent in the year to the December 2021 quarter to reach 35.61 New Zealand dollars (23.66 U.S. dollars), statistics show. ■