Unemployment: NZ data and downloads
Unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) was 5.6% in Jun 2026 qtr, up 0.4 points on a year earlier.
Updated
Source: Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa. Last retrieved 10 October 2026.
Unemployment, %, Mar 1986 qtr to Jun 2026 qtr
Show the figures
| Period | Unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) (%) |
|---|---|
| Jun 2026 qtr | 5.6% |
| Mar 2026 qtr | 5.4% |
| Dec 2025 qtr | 5.4% |
| Sep 2025 qtr | 5.3% |
| Jun 2025 qtr | 5.2% |
| Mar 2025 qtr | 5.2% |
| Dec 2024 qtr | 5.1% |
| Sep 2024 qtr | 4.9% |
| Jun 2024 qtr | 4.7% |
| Mar 2024 qtr | 4.4% |
| Dec 2023 qtr | 4.0% |
| Sep 2023 qtr | 3.9% |
| Jun 2023 qtr | 3.7% |
| Mar 2023 qtr | 3.5% |
| Dec 2022 qtr | 3.4% |
| Sep 2022 qtr | 3.3% |
| Jun 2022 qtr | 3.3% |
| Mar 2022 qtr | 3.3% |
| Dec 2021 qtr | 3.2% |
| Sep 2021 qtr | 3.3% |
June 2026 quarterUnemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) 5.6%
Lines break at accounting-basis changes and missing periods. Source: Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa.
Unemployment: NZ data and downloads: definitions
The unemployment rate and number of unemployed people from the Household Labour Force Survey, seasonally adjusted, quarterly from 1986.
Unemployment: NZ data and downloads: comparison limits
These affect how the figures can be compared.
- Survey estimates with sampling error; quarter-to-quarter moves of a few tenths of a point may not be significant.
- 'Unemployed' means without a job, available and actively seeking work; it is not the same as receiving a benefit.
Unemployment: NZ data and downloads: data by period
The latest ten periods for up to the first six series. Downloads contain every published observation.
| Period | Unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) | People unemployed (thousands, seasonally adjusted) |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 2026 qtr | 5.6% | 171 thousand |
| Mar 2026 qtr | 5.4% | 164 thousand |
| Dec 2025 qtr | 5.4% | 165 thousand |
| Sep 2025 qtr | 5.3% | 160 thousand |
| Jun 2025 qtr | 5.2% | 158 thousand |
| Mar 2025 qtr | 5.2% | 156 thousand |
| Dec 2024 qtr | 5.1% | 155 thousand |
| Sep 2024 qtr | 4.9% | 148 thousand |
| Jun 2024 qtr | 4.7% | 142 thousand |
| Mar 2024 qtr | 4.4% | 135 thousand |
Unemployment: NZ data and downloads: questions for your AI
Download the file, attach it in the assistant you use, then paste the prompt. Whatever it tells you is its reading of the data, not ours.
- 1Download unemployment.csv
- 2Attach it in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or another assistant
- 3Paste this prompt
The attached CSV is Unemployment (unemployment), from Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa, Household Labour Force Survey. Describe how each measure has changed, naming its unit and period. Treat changes in basis and missing periods as breaks. Distinguish observation from explanation. Limitations: Survey estimates with sampling error; quarter-to-quarter moves of a few tenths of a point may not be significant. 'Unemployed' means without a job, available and actively seeking work; it is not the same as receiving a benefit.. Do not infer causation from changes during government terms.
Data related to unemployment: nz data and downloads
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Unemployment: NZ data and downloads: sources
The source publication, licence and snapshot used to build this page.
- Organisation
- Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa, Household Labour Force Survey
- Licence
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). This work is based on Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
- Reuse limits
- Photos, graphics and logos are excluded. Stats NZ logos and government emblems must not be used.
- Snapshot
- data/raw/statsnz-hlfs/2026-10-10_ea821e39d2b7.csv
- SHA256
- ea821e39d2b778d1b34e17a4eb81cb3e6c9748a395580b049f178864c558e540
- Retrieved
- 10 October 2026