(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand’s pool of labor is expanding at the fastest pace in almost three years as the nation’s re-opened border allows more foreign workers to enter the market.

The number of residents aged 15 years and over who could work rose by 89,400 in the 12 months through June to an estimated 4,193,200, Statistics New Zealand said Wednesday in Wellington. That’s up from a revised 64,400 in March and is the biggest annual gain since September 2020.

The influx is expected to take pressure off wage inflation, which soared to a record high due to a shortage of workers. The Reserve Bank in May signaled the end of its tightening cycle, highlighting the recent surge in immigration was providing relief to the tight labor market and would ease consumer-price gains.

Ordinary time wages for non-government workers rose at a record annual pace of 4.5% in the first quarter. The RBNZ in May projected that would be the peak in wage inflation, although it would likely remain above 4% until late 2025.

New Zealand began progressively re-opening its border last year — having shut it in March 2020 at the onset of the pandemic — and that has started to lift the inflow of migrant workers.

A record 98,391 non-New Zealand citizens arrived in the year through April 30. Firms say they are having less difficulty finding skilled and unskilled workers, a New Zealand Institute of Economic Research survey showed Tuesday.

The RBNZ in May estimated the working-age population would rise by 100,000 in 2023.

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