WELLINGTON, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in the September 2022 quarter, unchanged from last quarter, the country's statistics department Stats NZ said on Wednesday.
While the unemployment rate remained level, the underutilization rate, a broader measure of spare labor capacity, dipped slightly to 9 percent, from 9.2 percent last quarter.
"Unemployment and underutilization rates have been sitting at or near record lows for more than a year," said work and wellbeing statistics senior manager Becky Collett.
The labor force participation rate rose to 71.7 percent and the employment rate rose to 69.3 percent. Both are the highest rates recorded since the Household Labor Force Survey began in 1986, Collett said.
In the September 2022 quarter, the labor force participation rate for women rose to 67.4 percent, the highest rate since the series began, he said, adding that women's labor force participation rate was much lower than men's in the 1980s but has grown faster over the last 30 years.
The average hourly wage rose 7.4 percent to 37.86 NZ dollars (22.21 U.S. dollars), outpacing inflation at 7.2 percent, Collett said. ■