Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay’s combined unemployment rate climbs nearly 70% year on year

East Coast-based Labour MPs Cushla Tangaere-Manuel (top right) and Jo Luxton (bottom right) have criticised the Government for rising unemployment in Gisborne and Hawke's Bay. East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick (left) says the Government is working hard to "fix" damage and grow the economy. Background / Getty Images

East Coast-based Labour MPs say a nearly 70% increase in unemployment numbers year on year across Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay are a sign of ‘economic mismanagement’.

East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick, from National, says the Government was working “hard to fix the damage done to our economy during a period of reckless government spending” under the previous Government.

The Household Labour Force Survey from Stats NZ showed a 69.8% (rounded to one decimal place) increase in unemployment across Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay year on year, and an increase of just over 78% from 2023 to 2025.

The statistics show 4100 people were unemployed in 2023, increasing to 4300 in 2024 before jumping up to 7300 in 2025.

That put the unemployment rate for the two regions at 5.9% and the underutilisation rate at 11.7%, compared with 3.4% and 10.5% respectively a year ago.

Stats NZ does not record this data separately for the two regions.

Auckland and Wellington figures rose by 53% and 50.53% respectively over the past year. Unemployment in the Bay of Plenty dropped by 14.29%.

The national unemployment rate was 5.3%.

Cushla Tangaere-Manuel, MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, and Gisborne-based Labour Party list MP Jo Luxton were critical of the unemployment figure.

“People in Ikaroa-Rāwhiti have done it tough already, recovering from Cyclone Gabrielle, rebuilding communities, and now facing growing job losses,” Tangaere-Manuel said.

“Christopher Luxon promised to make the economy better, but he’s made it worse. Labour has a plan to grow local jobs and support regional economies so people can build their futures here at home.”

Luxton said unemployment had reached its highest level in nearly a decade under National, and the data showed it was “even worse” in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay.

“The number of people out of work in our region has almost doubled in just two years. That’s thousands more families losing their livelihoods because of National’s economic mismanagement,” Luxton said.

East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick told the Gisborne Herald it was difficult to assess the picture for Tairāwhiti with the data being combined with Hawke’s Bay.

She pointed to figures from the Ministry of Social Development’s (MSD) quarterly survey on beneficiaries, which measured data specific to the region covered by the Gisborne District Council.

In Tairāwhiti, there had been a 7.355% increase in beneficiaries across all benefits in the five years from September 2020 to September 2025, from 6159 to 6612, according to MSD.

For Jobseeker support alone, there had been a decrease of 1.579% from September 2020 to September 2025, from 3039 to 2991.

She added it was important to note the unemployment data was broadly in line with the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update forecast of a 5.4% unemployment rate in 2025.

Kirkpatrick defended the National Party’s economic stewardship.

“Since the election in 2023, National has worked hard to fix the damage done to our economy during a period of reckless government spending, sky-high inflation and rising interest rates,” she said.

“Inflation is now back in the target band, interest rates have fallen, and the economy is starting to recover. Unemployment is always the last thing that happens in a recovery phase as businesses reset.”

She said the Government was delivering economically.

“This data shows the importance of this Government’s ongoing work to grow the economy and deliver more jobs for East Coasters.

“It is hard out there for businesses, but the primary sector is returning great commodity prices, and a good year for sheep and beef farming and horticulture has made a huge contribution to our local economy and therefore will have a positive effect on employment and opportunities.”

She said the Government was giving more help to job seekers to get job-ready.

“They are now required to report on their progress, and there are sanctions in place for those who are long-term beneficiaries.

“Soon there will be no benefits for 18- to 19-year-olds, and they will be required to go to work or get into training. This is a good move and has been requested by many parents. If you can work, you should work.”