{"id":469054,"date":"2026-06-09T21:35:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T21:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/469054\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T21:35:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T21:35:08","slug":"bay-of-plenty-records-highest-unemployment-rate-in-new-zealand-national-average-dips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/469054\/","title":{"rendered":"Bay of Plenty records highest unemployment rate in New Zealand, national average dips"},"content":{"rendered":"

He said Bay of Plenty unemployment usually increased in the December to March quarter because the seasonal flow of work<\/a> changed over the year.<\/p>\n

Olsen said the quarter mostly predated the Iran war, so the data would not show any real impacts of this.<\/p>\n

He said Bay of Plenty had also seen a strong lift in employment.<\/p>\n

In the recent quarter, 9200 more people were employed in the region compared with March 2025, for a total of 185,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rising employment figure indicates there has been job growth, but there aren\u2019t enough roles for the rising number of people that are looking for roles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"InfometricsInfometrics chief executive and principal economist Brad Olsen. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell <\/p>\n

Tauranga-based One 21 Recruitment managing director and recruitment specialist Kirsty Morrison said more self-employed, sole traders, and small business owners were entering the job market for additional income.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is largely because of the downturn in discretionary spending, which is affecting so many industries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe struggle is very real, and there are many people facing desperate times, but they are stuck between giving up everything they have worked for and having to find a job that potentially takes them away from keeping their own business afloat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those people might not meet unemployment benefit criteria, but were \u201cjust as desperate for an income as the 7.1%\u201d.<\/p>\n

Morrison said employers were \u201ctaking a cautious approach to hiring\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said economic and global uncertainty and higher costs<\/a> had led businesses to delay hiring full-time permanent employees. <\/p>\n

\u201cMany are showing more interest in exploring other options, such as taking on contractors or employees in a part-time or casual capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morrison said she also saw movement out of the region<\/a>. One 21 had provided \u201cCV makeovers\u201d for job seekers moving to Australia.<\/p>\n

\"TalentiaTalentia Group chief executive Colin Daly said demand for residential construction roles had softened. Photo \/ 123rf<\/p>\n

Talentia Group owns recruitment agency One Staff, which has offices in Tauranga and Rotorua.<\/p>\n

Chief executive Colin Daly said the job market <\/a>had not stopped. However, hiring was taking longer, labour costs were under scrutiny, and more employers were choosing temporary staffing solutions, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn many cases, businesses are reducing overtime, tightening shifts, or staging recruitment activity while they wait for greater confidence around workloads and project pipelines.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said One Staff had also seen an increase in candidate activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore people are looking for stable work, consistent hours, and long-term certainty after being impacted by reduced workloads or changing business conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daly said demand for residential construction<\/a> and lower-skilled, entry-level labouring roles had softened.<\/p>\n

However, demand continued across infrastructure, logistics, production, and operational support sectors.<\/p>\n

\u201cCandidates with reliability, licences, practical experience and strong work histories are generally securing work more quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daly said job seekers were exploring \u201cattractive\u201d infrastructure pipelines and higher advertised salaries in Waikato, Auckland and Australia.<\/p>\n

He said Bay of Plenty\u2019s infrastructure investment, logistics growth, manufacturing activity, and strong primary industries kept him optimistic about the region\u2019s medium-term outlook.<\/p>\n

\"RotoruaRotorua Business Chamber chief executive Melanie Short. Photo \/ Aleyna Martinez<\/p>\n

Rotorua Business Chamber<\/a> chief executive Melanie Short said she was concerned about the trajectory of unemployment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat will quarter two look like with the real impacts on businesses because of the Middle East conflict and fuel prices?\u201d<\/p>\n

Short said supply chain impacts had constrained cashflow for businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost of business has increased.\u201d<\/p>\n

Short said the business chamber worked closely with the Ministry of Social Development and had several active initiatives.<\/p>\n

She said those initiatives had received more engagement from job seekers.<\/p>\n

Tauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley said businesses were responding to external drivers.<\/p>\n

These included rising costs, flat demand, and low customer confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusinesses want to protect their cash flow constraints until there is greater certainty around the fuel and supply chain shortages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cowley said businesses were resizing.<\/p>\n

\u201cBallance Agrinutrients <\/a>is a good example of a business changing from a manufacturing plant to a distribution depot, resulting in organisational resizing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TaurangaTauranga Business Chamber chief executive Matt Cowley. Photo \/ Mead Norton<\/p>\n

He said business had been slow across the eastern Bay of Plenty and Rotorua.<\/p>\n

The western Bay\u2019s key industries \u2013 like construction \u2013 had also remained weak, he said.<\/p>\n

Cowley said Mauao\u2019s closure following January\u2019s landslide<\/a> was also symbolic for several businesses trying to \u201csurvive a period of high uncertainty\u201d.<\/p>\n

Workers First Union is a union representing retail, finance, transport, logistics, manufacturing, and ambulance services.<\/p>\n

Tauranga organiser Hayley Derry said wages were \u201dnot keeping up with the cost of living” and hours were being cut.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are accepting jobs with fewer hours in the hope of being offered more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the recent rise in petrol, food, and mortgage rates, it is hard out there to support your family on the average wage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rotorua organiser Phil Graham said he had seen negative wage pressure and employers did not want to negotiate fair pay increases.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hike in fuel costs \u2013 especially diesel \u2013 has had an adverse effect on both employees and employers.”<\/p>\n

Examples of affected workplaces were transport companies, wood sites, and councils, Graham said.<\/p>\n

\"WorkersWorkers First Union Tauranga organiser Hayley Derry said wages were \u201dnot keeping up with the cost of living”. Photo \/ 123rf<\/p>\n

Employment Minister Louise Upston said jobseeker numbers had been rising steadily since 2022, while unemployment had been rising since 2021. Unemployment was always one of the last things to improve after a recession, she said.<\/p>\n

Upston said there were a number of construction projects underway in Bay of Plenty \u2013 including the Takitimu North Link, the \u014cmanawa Bridge <\/a>replacement, and 290 social homes delivered by Community Housing Providers \u2013 providing employment.<\/p>\n

Bijou Johnson<\/a> is a multimedia journalist based in Bay of Plenty. A passionate writer and reader, she grew up in Tauranga and developed a love for journalism while exploring various disciplines at university. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies from Massey University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He said Bay of Plenty unemployment usually increased in the December to March quarter because the seasonal flow…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":469055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2177,1561,138,59776,4729,78,3556,117,111,139,69,1118,1562,19257,9090,241,80],"class_list":["post-469054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-average","tag-bay","tag-business","tag-dips","tag-highest","tag-in","tag-national","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-plenty","tag-rate","tag-records","tag-unemployment","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/469055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}