In the December quarter, the Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index saw a spike due to increased perceptions of job availability. This increase led to a slight rise in employment confidence from 89.2 in the September quarter to 91.6 in the December quarter. However, this rise is not potent enough to keep the unemployment rate below a 5% threshold this year, according to Westpac’s chief economist Kelly Eckhold.

A significant influencer of this pattern was a change in people’s views on job availability. The ‘current opportunities measure,’ which is closely tied to the unemployment rate, saw a lift from -50 to -44. This lift, although still low on a historical scale, presented the first notable betterment in over two years. This situation generated hope that the unemployment rate might not escalate further, despite Westpac’s prediction of it breaching the 5% barrier soon.

The forecasted job opportunities measure also climbed marginally from -24.9 to -20.7, indicating some stability in employment. Nevertheless, this does not always align with actual labor market results. For example, although job advertisements have seemingly reached their lowest point, there has been no surge in hiring, indicating a stagnation in the job market.

Regional data revealed a boost in confidence in seven areas, with significant gains in major centers such as Auckland and Christchurch. However, confident dropped in some areas, including Northland and Waikato. Overall, the confidence growth in regions such as Nelson and the West Coast was primarily a result of earnings growth rather than job availability.

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