English says jobs market may cool, wage growth and inflation pick up
Mr English said wage growth was "moderate but consistent" and bond rates were indicating a pickup in inflation.
Prime Minister Bill English says he expects employment growth to slow after the labour market achieved a record participation rate in the fourth quarter while signs were that inflation and wage growth would pick up.
"There are always cycles in an economy. A very large number of jobs were created last year, a lot of people coming into the workforce, the highest participation rate we've ever had," Mr English told journalists at the Beehive. "As the cycle goes through, we'll see that slow down and inflation and wage growth pick up."
English said wage growth was "moderate but consistent" and bond rates were indicating a pickup in inflation.
Figures today showed the participation rate was a record 70.5% in the fourth quarter while wage inflation remained muted, with the ordinary time private sector labour cost index increasing 0.4 percent in the quarter.
The yield on New Zealand 10-year government bonds has climbed from a low in August of about 2.14 percent to about 3.36 percent currently, a move of 1.2 percentage points.
Mr English made the comments at a media conference to announce the next general election would be held on September 23.
Mr English continued the practice established by predecessor John Key, who believed the public favoured certainty over the election date rather than the tradition of the ruling party keeping the date close to its chest to keep opposition parties guessing.
Mr English said the economy will always be "the central issue" of the election.
(BusinessDesk)
Sophie Boot
Wed, 01 Feb 2017
Wed, 01 Feb 2017
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
English says jobs market may cool, wage growth and inflation pick up
64542