New Zealand employment rate records historic drop in April

New Zealand’s employment rate dropped to its lowest level in April. It declined by 1.7% as the impact of the novel coronavirus and the restrictions it brought on social and economic activity continue to press, the statistics agency said on Thursday.

Statistics New Zealand had reported 37,500 jobs filed in April. It fell lower than April records as the figure came to be the worst reading since the country began job monitoring more than 20 years ago.

Meanwhile, the country’s business sentiment recovered in May. Though recuperation is evident, its outlook remains weak. In addition to this, 40% of the surveyed companies planned to trim their staff count, an ANZ Bank survey showed.

Out of all the participants who took part in the survey, 41.8% foresee that the economy will fluctuate in the coming months. It came lower than the 66.6% pessimism rate recorded in April. More so, 38.7% expect weak business activity, far smaller than the 55.1% expectation last month.