New Zealand's unemployment rate climbed to 5.6 percent in the three months to June 2026 — its highest level in more than a decade. Stats NZ released the figures on 4 August. The rate was up from 5.4 percent the previous quarter. More people were joining the workforce than there were new jobs being created. Economists had expected a better result, according to 1News.

The number of people without a job rose by 8,000 to 171,000. A wider measure of people who are not getting as much work as they want also grew. This is called the underutilisation rate, and it covers people who are unemployed, working fewer hours than they'd like, or available for work but not actively looking. That rate rose to 13.8 percent, with 440,000 people in that group — up 31,000.

The regional picture was mixed. Northland had the highest unemployment rate at 8.8 percent, up sharply from 5.1 percent the previous quarter, according to Stuff. Auckland's rate stayed at 6.5 percent.

Wages kept rising, though not by much. Average hourly pay increased to $44.62, up 2.8 percent over the year. Private sector workers earned an average of $42.46 an hour (up 3.0 percent), while public sector workers earned $52.59 (up 2.2 percent). Average weekly pay for full-time workers rose to $1,730.

RNZ reported on 5 August what it's like for people on the ground. Summer Peden, a recent graduate, said she had applied for almost 200 jobs since November and had only about six interviews. She tried everything from administration to healthcare and teaching. She handed out copies of her CV on the street. Her job seeker benefit was cut after she moved to Dunedin to live with her partner, because his income was too high for her to qualify. Her share of rent is $300 a week.

A nurse named Justine, who had worked as a registered nurse for 37 years, was also struggling to find a new job, RNZ reported.

The reason the unemployment rate is going up is that more people are entering the workforce — finishing study, coming back from overseas, or looking for work after time away — faster than new jobs are being created. Think of it like a bucket where more water is pouring in than draining out. Even if jobs are still being added, the rate goes up because the pool of workers is growing faster.

A rate of 5.6 percent matters politically because governments tend to be judged on how the economy is doing, and unemployment at this level puts that under the spotlight. The underutilisation rate at 13.8 percent shows the picture is broader than the headline number suggests — a lot more people than the 171,000 officially unemployed are not getting the work they want.

Northland's jump from 5.1 to 8.8 percent in a single quarter is a big swing. The next set of figures will show whether that's a lasting change or just a one-off. Auckland sitting at 6.5 percent, above the national rate, means the country's biggest job market is still under pressure.

Wages growing at around 3 percent while unemployment rises suggests employers are hiring less rather than cutting pay. Whether that continues in the September quarter will depend on whether the workforce keeps growing faster than jobs are being created, and whether private sector pay rises stay ahead of the public sector, according to Stats NZ.