Finance Minister Grant Robertson arriving for his Covid-19 media update at Parliament. If the lockdown were to be extended, that figure could reach between 17.5 and 26 per cent. "As is usual with the Budget, there may well be pre-announcements, especially where they relate to urgent Covid-19 response activities," Grant Robertson said. Treasury Secretary Caralee McLiesh has previously said New Zealand's unemployment rate could likely head "well into the double digits". "I think the low double digits is where we're going to be in the near-ish term," Robertson said of the unemployment rate.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 13, 2020 21:22 UTC