An overview of labour force participation in Auckland, as indicated by results of Stats NZ's quarterly Household Labour Force Survey. HLFS

Overview and highlights

For the June 2026 quarter, compared to the preceding quarter (March 2026):

• Auckland’s unemployment rate was 6.5%, similar to March 2026 and highest-equal rate since 2013.
• The number of people who were unemployed was 68,000 (-1,600, a 2% fall).
• The number of people employed rose to 985,300 (+3,900, a 0.4% rise).
• The number of people not in the labour force (NILF) rose 1% to 430,200 (+3,800).
• The labour force participation rate (LFPR) was similar at 71.0%: lowest-equal since 2020, similar to 2016-2019, but note that LFPR 2021-2025 had been at record highs.
• The rate of people aged 15 to 24 not in employment, education or training (NEET) was 13.6%, slightly above the rest of New Zealand (12.7%) but below March 2026 (17.6%).

For the year ended June 2026, compared to the year ended June 2025:

• The unemployment rate averaged 6.4%, a tenth higher than a year earlier (5.8%).
• The largest proportionate rise in unemployment rate was for those aged 20 to 24 years (rising to 13.5% from 11.2%) and 25 to 39 (5.5%, up from 4.6%), followed by ages 55 years and over (3.4%, up from 3.0%) and 15 to 19 years (30.0%, up from 27.2%), there was a slight drop for ages 40 to 54 years (4.2%, down from 4.0%)
• The unemployment rate for females averaged 6.7% (0.6% above a year prior (6.1%)); the rate for males averaged 6.1% (0.6% above the 5.5% of a year prior), so the gender gap (0.6%) stayed below its 20-year average (0.8%) and well below its peak (2.5%).
• Unemployment rates rose for all main ethnic groups. Māori and Pacific rates remain higher than the others: Māori at 14.3% (up from 12.4%), Pacific peoples at 13.1% (was 11.0%); Asian fell slightly to 5.2% (from 5.5%), European rose to 4.6% (was 4.1%).
• The labour force participation rate (LFPR) was 71.1%: down from a year earlier (72.2%), and the lowest since 2021, but remaining higher than any time before 2018.
• The LFPR for females decreased (66.4%, down from 67.4%), remaining significantly lower than for males (76.0%, was 77.2%) but the gender gap was unchanged at 10%.
• LFPRs fell a little for those aged 15 to 19 (down 1.4% to 38.4%), and by even less for all other ages: 20 to 24 (minimal fall of 0.4% to 78.1%), 25-39 (86.9%, down 0.7%), 40-54 (87.0%, minimal fall of 0.3%), and 55 and over (50.3%, down 1.0%).
• LFPRs fell slightly more for Māori (63.8%, down 1.3%), European (71.4%, down 1.2%), and Asian (75.1%, down 1.1%) than for Pacific peoples (65.1%, down 0.7%).

In addition, for the year ended June 2026:

• The annual average NEET rate for Auckland was 15.2%, higher than the rest of New Zealand (13.0%), and a little above the year ended June 2025 (14.0%). The Auckland rate has been rising steadily since 2023, increasing by a third since then.
• NEET rates were highest for Māori (27.3%) and Pacific (22.8%) ethnicities, and for the Southern Initiative area (24.3%); half of NEETs identified as European or Asian
• Auckland’s NEET rate was higher for those aged 20-24 (18.5%) than 15-19 (12.1%). ...

Overview published August 2026.

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