WELLINGTON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.1 percent in the March 2025 quarter, according to the statistics department Stats NZ on Wednesday.

The number of unemployed people stayed steady at 156,000 compared to the December 2024 quarter. However, year-on-year, unemployment rose by 22,000, Stats NZ said.

"While unemployment was unchanged over the quarter, longer-term trends mean the labor market appears quite different from the same quarter last year," said Stats NZ labor market spokesperson Abby Johnston.

The employment rate stood at 67.2 percent, with total employment edging up by 2,000 over the quarter but down by 21,000 annually to 2.91 million, statistics show.

A notable shift from full-time to part-time work occurred over the year, with full-time employment dropping by 45,000 and part-time employment, fewer than 30 hours working per week, increasing by 25,000, Stats NZ said, adding that 21 percent of employed people currently work part-time, including 12 percent of men and 30 percent of women.

The underutilization rate, a broader measure of slack in the labor market, rose slightly to 12.3 percent, up from 12.1 percent last quarter. Annually, underutilization increased by 35,000 to 390,000, largely due to higher unemployment, the department said.

Meanwhile, annual wage inflation was recorded at 2.9 percent, it said, adding that average hourly earnings reached 42.79 NZ dollars (25.73 U.S. dollars). ■