More Hawke's Bay jobs with fewer out of work

Hawke's Bay's unemployment rate for the June quarter has fallen to 7.5 per cent, from 8.7 per cent in the March quarter and 9.1 per cent for the 2010 June quarter, the latest Household Labour Force Survey by Statistics New Zealand shows.
But the fall in unemployment was matched with a rise in employment, with the lowest level recorded for three years. Nationally the unemployment rate was 6.5 per cent with no change for numbers in employment.
Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer Murray Douglas said overall the figures appeared good but noted the survey, which regularly changed its sample, had been been volatile in the past.
There was a chance the lower employment figure indicated a contraction in the Hawke's Bay economy.
The working-age population in Hawke's Bay dropped 3.5 per cent, the survey showed, but was at the same level reported for the same quarter in 2010.