NZ jobless rate falls below 5% for first time since 2008, wage inflation muted

Tue, 01 Nov 2016

By Paul McBeth Nov. 2 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's unemployment rate fell below 5 percent for the first time since December 2008 as employers took on more staff than expected, although that didn't spur wages to rise at a faster pace. The kiwi dollar rose on the figures. The unemployment rate fell to 4.9 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30 from a revised 5 percent rate in June, Statistics New Zealand said. Employment grew 1.4 percent in the quarter, outpacing a 0.5 percent gain economists were picking, with rental, hiring and real...

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