New Zealand ends 2020 with surprise unemployment drop

From Morning Report, 7:37 am on 4 February 2021

A boom in construction jobs appears to have fuelled a surprise fall in the unemployment rate. Quarterly data from Statistics New Zealand show the rate dropped from 5.3 percent to 4.9 percent. The number of employed New Zealanders rose by 17,000 in the quarter to December, something the government says reflects an economy in recovery mode. ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner and her counterpart at Westpac New Zealand, Dominick Stephens, speak to Corin Dann.