With new Zealand's elections approaching, the unemployment rate in the third quarter reached its highest level in 11 years. According to Reuters, economic and inflationary pressures are the core issues of this election, which put great pressure on Christopher Luxon, the leader of the New Zealand National Party and the Prime Minister of the coalition government.
On November 4th, data released by the New Zealand Statistics Agency showed that the unemployment rate in the country increased from 5.5% in the previous quarter to 5.7% during the three months ending in September, reaching the highest level since 2015. The number of employed people decreased by 0.1% month-over-month during the same period.
The data released this time is weaker than market expectations. Economists previously predicted that New Zealand's unemployment rate would remain at 5.5% in the third quarter, with employment numbers increasing by 0.4% month-over-month. The New Zealand Reserve Bank also previously forecast that the unemployment rate would be 5.5%.
A poll conducted by Ipsos earlier this week showed that inflation and living costs have become the most pressing concerns for voters. As the election on November 7 approaches, the support rates of New Zealand's two major political parties are evenly matched, making the election situation very close.
Opposition party financial affairs spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said that this round of employment data was a "severe negation" of the performance of the Raksan economic management.
She said in a statement, "He has missed the last chance to prove the economic plan effective, and New Zealand citizens are paying the price for this... For ordinary working families, the pressure has not diminished. Living costs remain high, bills keep piling up, while wages cannot keep up with rising prices."
