Kelly Eckhold: Westpac Chief Economist on the expectation the unemployment rate will fall slightly in Q3

Most economists expect the latest unemployment figures to show the labour market has finally turned a corner.  

Stats NZ is releasing its latest quarterly data at 10.45am. 

Westpac is picking a fall from 5.6% to 5.5% for Q3 – the first drop in five years. 

Chief Economist Kelly Eckhold told Mike Hosking we've seen the strongest quarter of employment growth since the start of 2023, and that combined with slower population growth adds up to a falling unemployment rate. 

He says our economic growth is still unbalanced, but there's enough that we should see falls in the unemployment rate throughout the next year and a half.  

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