New Zealand’s unemployment rate rose to 4.0% in the fourth quarter of last year from 3.9% in the third quarter, further confirming that a slowdown in the economy continues to play out, the Wall Street Journal reported. The unemployment rate rose 0.6 percentage points through 2023, up from 3.4% in the fourth quarter of 2022, Stats NZ said on Wednesday. “Unemployment rates have returned to 2019 levels, following recent historic lows,” Becky Collett, work and wellbeing statistics senior manager at Stats NZ, said.
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New Zealand
New Zealand houses are selling faster as signs that interest rates may have peaked encourage more buyers to enter the market, Bloomberg News reported. The median time to sell a house in December was 36 days, Real Estate Institute of New Zealand data showed Thursday in Wellington. That’s the lowest since March 2022 and down from a peak of 60 days in February last year. House prices in New Zealand are recovering after a prolonged slump that coincided with a steep rise in mortgage interest rates.
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New Zealand’s agriculture-rich economy contracted unexpectedly in the third quarter, raising questions about whether interest rates have risen too far with the economy on track for a return to recession, the Wall Street Journal reported. The economy contracted 0.3% in the quarter, following a revised 0.5% increase in GDP in the second quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ on Thursday. Economists had expected the economy to grow by 0.2% over the quarter. From a year earlier, the economy contracted by 0.6%, Stats NZ added.
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Air New Zealand said on Tuesday that a change in the servicing schedule of RTX's Pratt & Whitney engines could significantly impact the airline's services for up to two years, Reuters reported. The carrier in October had flagged a nominal financial impact in the first half of 2024 related to the engine issue. Air New Zealand warned in September that the engine inspections would have a "significant" impact on its flight schedule from next year. The airline said on Tuesday it would pause flights connecting Auckland and Hobart from April 5 next year.
New Zealand-based Cooks Coffee Company plans to place its Triple Two coffee franchise business in the UK into an insolvency process, VerdictFoodService.com reported. For this, the company intends to appoint administrators for its franchise business, which includes Triple Two Holdings and its subsidiaries. In a statement, Cooks Coffee Company said: “Triple Two was growing rapidly before the Covid-19 pandemic and had shown continuing momentum in FY22.
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BCC has filed for bankruptcy and the administrators of the electronics chain informed its employees on Thursday morning, NL Times reported. The court granted BCC a deferment of payment last week. The electronics chain has 58 stores, an online shop, and around 1,300 employees. If the court declares BCC bankrupt, the bankruptcy administrators can start working on a possible restart, potentially saving some of the jobs. The electronics chain has been struggling with financial problems.
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New Zealand’s economy probably emerged from a shallow recession in the second quarter as a surge in immigration fueled growth, Bloomberg News reported. Gross domestic product increased 0.4% in the three months through June, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. From a year earlier, the economy expanded 1.2%, the survey shows. Statistics New Zealand publishes the report at 10:45 a.m. Thursday in Wellington.
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New Zealand’s government is tightening its belt as a domestic recession and concerns about China’s faltering economy erode tax revenue and strain its budget, Bloomberg News reported. The government has identified almost NZ$4 billion ($2.4 billion) of potential savings over the next four years, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said Monday in Wellington. He has instructed the public service to cut spending on consultants and contractors and said he will also reduce future budget allowances. “We have seen further deterioration in the global economy, particularly in China,” Robertson said.
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New Zealand's Bed Bath & Beyond is fighting on two fronts to protect its brand. Now, the High Court has knocked it back, Newsroom reported. This country’s most familiar green-and-white High St.
New Zealand inflation probably slowed markedly in the second quarter as the central bank’s aggressive interest-rate increases began to take their toll, Bloomberg reported. Consumer prices rose 5.9% from a year earlier, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 14 economists. That would be a big drop from 6.7% in the first quarter and the weakest reading since 2021. It would also undershoot the Reserve Bank’s forecast of 6.1%. Statistics New Zealand will publish the data Wednesday in Wellington.