7 Aug 2008

Unemployment up

11:41 am on 7 August 2008

Unemployment rose to 3.9% in the three months to the end of June.

Statistics New Zealand says it's the highest since March 2006.

Unemployment was 3.7% at the end of the March quarter.

However, the household labour force survey shows the number of people in paid work rose by 26,000 in the June quarter.

The agency says this almost reverses the 27,000 who lost their jobs in the first three months of the year.

Employment in the construction, retail, transport, education and financial services sectors rose during the quarter and fell in agriculture, forestry and fishing, and manufacturing.