NZ unemployment jumps to 5.2 per cent, as job market brings more into workforceGEORGE HEARD/FAIRFAX NZ The construction industry continues to create jobs, but the number entering the work force outnumbered job creation at the end of 2016. Unemployment jumped to 5.2 per cent at the end of 2016, with new entrants to the workforce swamping the number of jobs created. ASB had expected unemployment to drop to around 4.5 per cent throughout 2017. Gisborne and the Hawke's Bay has the highest unemployment rate at 8.1 per cent, followed by Northland at 7.3 per cent and Taranaki at 6.8 per cent. Auckland's unemployment rate, at 5.1 per cent, was unchanged on a year ago, while unemployment in Wellington is 5.6 per cent, up 0.3 percentage points on the end of 2015.

Source: Stuff January 31, 2017 21:50 UTC