Unemployment is continuing to rise. 

New figures from Stats NZ show the unemployment rate was 4.3% in the March quarter, up 0.3 percentage points from 4% in the December quarter. 

The unemployment rate has been steadily rising since reaching a record low of 3.2% in the December 2021 quarter. 

Business NZ Director of Advocacy Catherine Beard told Mike Hosking that the biggest problems businesses are seeing is a slowdown in demand from consumers as opposed to unemployment. 

It’s a bit of a crunchy time we’re going through, she said. 

LISTEN ABOVE