Liam Dann: NZ Herald Business Editor on the unemployment rate rising to 5.6% in June

Best of Business · Aug 4, 2026 · 10m · transcript

Unemployment's reached the highest level in 11 years.

Stats NZ data shows the rate reached 5.6% in the June quarter, up from 5.3% in the March quarter.

Of the 166 thousand unemployed in this year's second quarter, almost a-fifth had been without work for more than a year.

Herald Business Editor at Large Liam Dann told Kerre Woodham some economists think the rate won't fall again any time soon.

He says some predict it'll increase to 5.7% and hang around at high levels into next year.

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