Jobs preview: What to expect from today’s unemployment data

Stats NZ will release the December quarter figures for unemployment, as well as employment and wage growth. The consensus of economists is that unemployment rose from 3.9 per cent to 4.3 per cent. “If the sheer quantum of labour market data released doesn’t bewilder a few, some of the outcomes might at first glance,” says BNZ economist Doug Steel. That was still a low level compared with history, said Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon. “On an annual basis, wage inflation has just passed its peak, and we expect it to slow further from 4.2 per cent to 3.9 per cent,” Gordon said.