Weaker than expected jobs data won't move the rate cut dial

(Image: NZME)

Wed, 01 May 2024

The March quarter jobs data was gloomier than expected, but there was little in the figures to shift the dial on rate cut expectations.The official unemployment rate was 4.3% in the March 2024 quarter versus 4% in December and above the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) forecast of 4.2%. The participation rate fell to 71.5% versus 71.9 % in the prior quarter, and the underutilisation rate rose to 11.2% from 10.7%, the highest since March 2021. "Labour cost growth was only slowly receding within the data and is stronger t...

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