New Zealand’s rate of unemployment nudged higher—to 3.6% from 3.4%—in the June quarter, while total employment increased 4% in the past year and has hit an all-time high of 69.8%. The labour force participation rate, which measures the percentage of people over 15 who were either employed or actively seeking employment, rose to a new record high at 72.4%. There are now more than three million people in the labour force, with 2.9m currently employed. These numbers a year ago were at 2.9m and 2.8m, respectively. Statistics NZ defines an unemployed person as someone who has no paid job, is working age, is available for ... (full story)