New Zealand's unemployment flat at 5.1 per cent

Joblessness is on the rise in New Zealand, emerging from a deep recession last year, ticking up 0.7 per cent in the last 12 months.

This figure will bring confidence that this figure is the top of the cycle, with employment levels improving as economic growth ticks up.

The Reserve Bank forecast joblessness to rise to 5.2 per cent, which was the peak during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the highest level since 2016.

Australia's unemployment topped out at 7.5 per cent during the pandemic.

However, the trans-Tasman tables have now turned, with Australia's unemployment rate staying under 4.5 per cent for more than three years, and New Zealand rising above that level for the last year.

Translated into raw figures, there are 156,000 unemployed Kiwis - up 16.5 per cent in a year - and a total workforce of 2.9 million.

Wage growth moderated to 0.5 per cent in the March quarter, or 2.9 per cent in the previous 12 months.

At 4.2 per cent growth, public sector wage growth outstripped private sector growth, at 2.6 per cent, in the past year.