New Zealand's jobless rate has risen as the number of new jobs created fails to keep pace with an expanding working population driven by record migration.
The unemployment rate rose to a seasonally-adjusted 5.9 per cent in the three months ended June 30, from 5.8 per cent in the March quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand's household labour force survey.
Employment grew 0.3 per cent in the quarter, falling short of expectations for 0.5 per cent jobs growth in a Reuters poll of economists, and lagging behind the 0.7 per cent expansion of the working-age population for the first time since the September 2012 quarter.
The participation rate fell 0.2 of a percentage point to 69.3 per cent.
"Even though employment grew over the quarter, population growth was greater, which resulted in a lower overall employment rate for New Zealand," labour market and household statistics manager Diane Ramsay said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Despite lower quarterly growth, this is still the 11th consecutive quarter of employment growth, making it the second-longest period of growth since the period between 1992 and 1996."
The New Zealand dollar dropped to 65.26 US cents after the data was released, from 65.41 cents immediately before.
New Zealand's population has been bolstered by an increased inflow of net migration, with fewer Kiwis leaving, more expats returning, and new migrants arriving.
That flood of new labour has helped keep wage inflation tame as more people compete for jobs, while the accelerating economy has been able to soak up new workers.
The labour cost index, also released on Wednesday, showed private sector ordinary time wage rates rose 0.5 per cent in the quarter, accelerating from a 0.3 per cent pace in March.
Annual private sector labour costs rose 1.8 per cent.
Public sector ordinary wages rose 0.3 per cent in the quarter for a 1.2 per cent annual rise.
Auckland's unemployment rate fell to 6.3 per cent in the June quarter from 6.9 per cent in the March period, while Canterbury's increased 0.2 of a percentage point to 3.3 per cent, still the lowest in the country.
Wellington's unemployment improved to 5.6 per cent from 6 per cent in March. Northland had the highest unemployment rate at 8.6 per cent, down from 9.9 per cent.
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