Unemployment rose in December 2008 to 4.3% of the workforce, while the participation rate surged higher to 69.7%, according to data published by Statistics NZ. (Updated with charts and further links and details.)
There are now 99,400 people unemployed, although only 30,500 of those are yet claiming the unemployment benefit.
Seasonally adjusted, the unemployment rate is 4.6%
The December unemployment rate equals the highest rate since early 2004. The participation rate has risen to its highest level in at least a decade.
The number of people actively participating in the workforce is now a record, exceeding 2.3 million.
The number of people in part-time work who are seeking more work has also shot up, to almost 100,000.
In the past year, employment growth has been concentrated in service-based industries, particularly education, and transport, storage and communications, while the number of people employed has fallen in the agriculture, construction and manufacturing industries.
Despite the rise in employment, total actual hours worked per week fell by 1.9% over the December 2008 quarter.
We are keeping a tally of lost jobs caused by the recession. You can see that list here >>> We invite readers comment with news of jobs being lost in via the Comment feature.
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