Jarrod Kerr: Kiwibank Chief Economist on the unemployment rate reaching 4.6 percent

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Kiwibank's Chief Economist says unemployment will rise for another year.

Stats NZ figures out today show unemployment jumped to 4.6 percent in the June quarter, from 4.4 the quarter before, and 3.6 percent this time last year.

Jarrod Kerr says this statistic tends to lag behind the rest of the economy, because employers keep workers as long as they can.

"So we think the unemployment rate keeps lifting for the rest of this year and into next - and it'll end up around 5.2-5.3 percent."

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