Young people increasingly struggling to find work, and it’s tough in Auckland and Wellington - new stats

Wednesday, 6 May 2026

Kiwis face a spike in living costs as petrol is projected to hit $3.70 a litre and winter electricity bills rise by $20 a month. The government is considering relief for home care workers as the energy crisis deepens.

The unemployment rate has dipped slightly to 5.3%, with 163,000 without work - a decrease from 165,000 in the previous quarter.

The 5.3% unemployment rate for the March quarter followed a 5.4% figure for the previous December quarter, and 5.3% in the September quarter, according to Stats NZ.

It showed a recent improvement in employment, however the data released on Wednesday was retrospective and did not reflect the economic effects of the fuel crisis sparked by the war in the Middle East that began in late February.

The data indicated that joblessness was higher in urban centres, with Auckland’s unemployment rate rising from 6.4% to 6.6%, the highest since 2014. Wellington’s unemployment rate also increased, from 5.8% to 6.3%, the highest since 2015. The highest regional unemployment rate was Bay of Plenty at 7.1%, up from 5.7%.

Auckland’s unemployment rate was the highest since 2014.

It was also evident that young people were increasingly struggling to find work. The proportion of youth aged 15 to 24 who were not in employment, education or training - known as NEET - increased from 13.3% to 14.4%.

“Women aged 20 to 24 continue to have the highest NEET rate, rising 1.9 percentage points to 20.3% in the March quarter,” Stats NZ labour market spokesperson Abby Johnston said.

Wage inflation - the rate of salary and wage increases across the public and private sectors - rose 2% in the year to March. That was less than the rate of price inflation at 3.1%, meaning wage increases did not keep up with price rises.

There were statistically significant changes in employment across certain industries. Most notably, employment in public administration and safety dropped by 27,800 to 168,500, while manufacturing employment increased by 16,200 to 259,300.

A person walks by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

The number of employed people in the March quarter was 2,889,000.

Unemployment rate by sex

Men 5.4% (previously 5.3%)
Women 5.3% (previously 5.6%)

Unemployment rate by ethnicity

Pacific 11.9% (previously 12.3%)
Maori 11.5% (previously 11.2%)
Asian 4.8% (previously 4.4%)
Pakeha 4.6% (previously 4.2%)