The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Kiwis hard, with unemployment reaching 5.1%—a four-year high.
The Household Labour Force Survey reported 156,000 unemployed people in the final quarter of 2024, an increase of 7,000 from the previous quarter’s 4.8% unemployment rate.
“Unemployment has been increasing since late 2022,” Stats NZ’s labour market spokesperson Deb Brunning said.
“The unemployment rate in the December 2024 quarter was the highest it’s been since the September 2020 quarter, when it was 5.2%.”
The employment rate dropped from 69% in December 2023 to 67.4% in December 2024, with 32,000 fewer people in work.
“This was the largest annual fall in employment since the year to December 2009,” Brunning said.
“Men comprised 85% of the annual decline in employment, indicating significant reductions in male-dominated occupational categories such as technicians and trades workers, as well as machinery operators and drivers.”
The number of technicians and trades workers decreased by 22,600 over the year ending in December, while there were 17,000 fewer machinery operators and drivers.
Community and personal service workers increased by 21,600. Full-time male employment decreased by 36,000, with part-time rising by 9,000. The proportion of 15 to 24-year-olds not in employment, education, or training increased to 13.5%, up from 12.3%.
The Labour Party and CTU swiftly condemned the government’s economic actions.
“This is what happens when the Government chooses to slash funding for frontline services, cut public sector jobs, and undermine economic stability,” Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said.
“Christopher Luxon’s coalition of chaos continues to plunge New Zealand deeper into recession. Their cuts have devastated the job market, and now 33,000 more Kiwis are unemployed in just the past year.
Insecurity in work, housing, and health among working people has emerged as the key finding from the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi’s 2025 annual Mood of the Workforce survey.
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff says the survey, which polled more than 1900 people, shows immense concern that the Government is taking Aotearoa New Zealand in the wrong direction.
“We’ve been running this survey since 2019, and I have never seen such a negative response. People are in fear for their jobs and their businesses, their ability to keep their homes, and for their health,” said Wagstaff.
“People are sharing stories of losing their jobs or struggling to cover the work of colleagues who have already lost their jobs. These are heartbreaking to hear. But so are the stories of families being broken up as people’s kids leave the country to find better job prospects, or of parents having to act as a safety net for their adult children. These children have been hit hardest by the recent downturns, and an unfair and unforgiving housing market,” said Wagstaff.
