Unemployment in Manawatu-Whanganui is now 5.9 per cent, slightly above the North Island average of 5.6 per cent.
Manawatu-Whanganui is one of only three regions to experience a decrease in the unemployment rate.
Whanganui businesses are especially in need of skilled workers, Ms Overton-Stuart told the Wanganui Chronicle.
"There are a lot of businesses looking for particular skills."
There have also been a number of entrepreneurs moving into the Whanganui area recently and establishing new businesses, she said.
The national unemployment rate has risen 0.3 per cent to 5.2 per cent in the last quarter of 2016.
Employment is up as well as unemployment, due to population growth.
New Zealand's working-age population has risen to 3,755,000, an increase of 17,000 people.
"The December quarter saw a large number of people enter the labour force," labour and income statistics manager Mark Gordon said.
"But while the number of people in employment has risen, so has the number of unemployed people."
Another 10,000 people in New Zealand were unemployed in the December quarter.
Northland and Gisborne/Hawke's Bay have the highest unemployment rates in the country, at 7.3 and 8.1 per cent.
Unemployment in both these regions has risen by more than one per cent in the last year.
Taranaki's unemployment rate has gone up 2.9 per cent over the same period, to 6.8 per cent.
Canterbury has the lowest unemployment in New Zealand at 3.7 per cent, despite a 0.4 per cent rise.