Unemployment rises to 4% as wage growth continues

New Zealand’s unemployment rate rose to 4% in the December quarter, according to data from Stats NZ. The rise was below what economists and the Reserve Bank of NZ (RBNZ) had expected. The RBNZ had forecast the rate would be 4.2%, while economists had tipped 4.2% to 4.3%. It also compared to 3.9% in the prior quarter. "Unemployment rates have returned to 2019 levels, following historic lows," Stats NZ's senior manager for work and wellbeing statistics, Becky Collett, said.Annual wage inflation – as measur...