employers and manufacturers association

There's concerns the unemployment rate will rise more.

Stats NZ released its labour market update for the December quarter today, with unemployment up to four percent.

3000 more people were unemployed than in the previous quarter, hitting 122,000.

Employers and Manufacturers Association Advocacy head, Alan McDonald, says many members called them about restructuring and redundancies in late 2023.

"That hasn't probably worked its way into those numbers yet, and that's what I think we'll see when the next quarter numbers come out for the start of this year."

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There's concerns the unemployment rate will rise more.

Stats NZ released its labour market update for the December quarter today, with unemployment up to four percent.

3000 more people were unemployed than in the previous quarter, hitting 122,000.

Employers and Manufacturers Association Advocacy head, Alan McDonald, says many members called them about restructuring and redundancies in late 2023.

"That hasn't probably worked its way into those numbers yet, and that's what I think we'll see when the next quarter numbers come out for the start of this year."

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Businesses are still being plagued by worker shortages.

An Employers and Manufacturers Association survey shows 90 percent of businesses are struggling to fill vacancies, and nearly a third have had roles in the market for more than six months.

Up to 44 percent say things have gotten worse.

EMA Head of Advocacy Alan McDonald says it's down to a lack of skills and people in the workforce.

"Only about a third of our cohort of school leavers have university degrees, so two thirds of the workforce is in the vocational side of things. And that's the bit that we're short of."

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