Darryl Jones says the peak in unemployment is not out of kilter for the region. Photo / John Stone
Darryl Jones says the peak in unemployment is not out of kilter for the region. Photo / John Stone
Northland's unemployment rate hit a two-year high over summer, with 1300 more people looking for work compared to three months prior.
However, a regional economist says there is no reason to panic as it appeared to be a peak rather than a trend.
Figures released yesterday showed in the threemonths to March unemployment was at 9.9 per cent in Northland, compared with 8.3 per cent in the previous quarter.
It showed the region had the highest rate of unemployment in the country, after coming in second last quarter.
Northland Regional Council economist Darryl Jones said he was surprised by the figures but not concerned.
"It is a surprise that it went up by that much but we do get quite a lot of seasonal change," Mr Jones said. "What I would be surprised by is if it jumped by that much again next quarter."
The national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.8 per cent.
In terms of the number of unemployed, to last December, there were 6800 people in the labour force looking for jobs in Northland. That number jumped to 8100 in March - a rise of 1300 more unemployed.
Mr Jones said the jump in unemployment was likely a combination of factors, including students coming home over the summer period.
One of the reasons he was not concerned was because the number of job seekers in Northland on the benefit decreased by about 300 in the same period.
It's obviously a concern, because unemployment figures have been stable.
In December, 8088 people were on job seeker support, compared with 7780 in March. Another factor was that the overall number of people employed in Northland was increasing. Over the past two years, more people were looking for work, Mr Jones said.
Those people previously might have voluntarily excluded themselves from the labour force because they did not believe there were jobs available.
Northland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Tony Collins said more work needed to be done to determine the reason for the increase.
He agreed seasonal change was probably a factor but also said it was the result of decreased confidence in the logging industry, as the result of the Harvest Pro collapse. "It's obviously a concern, because unemployment figures have been stable."
The last time unemployment was this high Northland was in March 2013, when it reached 10 per cent.
