New Zealand vs OECD: Monthly unemployment rates
Monthly unemployment rates over time
- New Zealand
- OECD
How they compare
New Zealand currently reports 5.28 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup against 4.92 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup in OECD, a difference of 0.36 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup.
That makes New Zealand's figure about 1.1 times OECD's.
Across all 20 years both countries report, OECD has been ahead every year.
New Zealand ranks 17th and OECD ranks 18th of 32 countries.
OECD has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | New Zealand | OECD | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.23 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup | 6.72 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup | 2.49 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup | OECD |
| 2010s | 5.37 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup | 7.04 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup | 1.68 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup | OECD |
| 2020s | 4.05 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup | 5.63 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup | 1.58 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup | OECD |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher monthly unemployment rates, New Zealand or OECD?
- New Zealand, at 5.28 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup against 4.92 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup in OECD as of 2025.
- What is the difference in monthly unemployment rates between New Zealand and OECD?
- 0.36 Percentage of labour force in the same subgroup, with New Zealand ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for New Zealand and OECD?
- 20 years are reported by both, from 2005 to 2024.
- How do New Zealand and OECD rank globally for monthly unemployment rates?
- New Zealand ranks 17th and OECD ranks 18th of 32 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Monthly unemployment rates. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The infra-annual dataflow on the monthly unemployment rate is a subset of the infra-annual labour statistics database, which contains predominantly monthly and quarterly statistics on the unemployed population by age groups (15+, 15-24, 25-54, 55-64, 15-64 and 15-74 where available) and sex and associated statistical methodological information and associated statistical methodological information, for the OECD member countries and for selected other economies. The unemployment rate is calculated as the number of unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force (i.e., the unemployed plus those in employment). The unemployed are persons in their working age who, in the reference period, do not have a job; are available for work; and, have taken specific steps to find a job. Chile, Costa Rica, and the United Kingdom publish Labour Force Survey (LFS) data using a rolling quarter methodology. The OECD treats the middle month of the rolling quarter as the reference month. As a result, the publication of monthly LFS data for these countries may be delayed by one month or more relative to the OECD reference month. The infra-annual labour statistics compiled for all OECD member countries, are drawn from Labour Force Surveys based on definition provided by the 19th Conference of Labour Statisticians in 2013. The uniform application of these definitions across all OECD member countries results in estimates that are internationally comparable.