New Zealand: Unemployment drops in Q4
The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.9% in Q4 from 5.3% in the previous quarter, which had marked the highest print since Q4 2016.
Meanwhile, the underutilization rate—which includes both unemployment and underemployment—fell to 11.9% in Q4 from 13.2% in Q3, which had marked the highest reading since Q1 2016, and therefore signaled some reduction in the labor market’s untapped capacity.