NZ's unemployment rate has fallen to a five-and-a-half year low as employers took on a growing number of migrants.

Childless couples are making up an increasingly large proportion of families - a trend that has been on the rise for more than 20 years, Statistics New Zealand says.

New residential dwelling consent data continues to be patchy, but overall, the sector is showing a strong recovery.

Applications to build new houses and apartments have hit a new seven-year high but the rate of growth is slowing.

NZ building consents rose at a modest 0.1pc pace in July reflecting a drop in the number of consents issued in Canterbury and a pick up in Auckland.

When Cecil Lochan settled in Mt Roskill in the mid-1970s, the Fijian-Indian was the first non-European in the street. His neighbour wasn't happy.

New Zealand's climb to 4.5 million people has been faster in the past year than it has in any other year in the past decade, according to estimates from Statistics NZ.

The highest earning households in New Zealand are in the electorate the Prime Minister lives in, according to Census figures.

An ageing population has contributed to the rise in the number of disabled people in New Zealand, which last year rose to over one million - almost a quarter of the population.

New Zealand's unemployment rate was unchanged in the first quarter as the country's participation rate rose to a record.

Most Maori are connected to their culture, with Maori television programmes playing a crucial role, according to a new report.

A Bay of Plenty iwi is in talks with the Govt to buy state houses in its area that it says would be used to house Maori and Pakeha.

MPs at a select committee are considering a law change that would lower the drink driving limit from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg.

Statisticians have discovered thousands more children and the elderly living in poverty than have been reported previously.

Rising economic confidence and "aggressive" marketing techniques are seen as the driving factors behind an 8.9 million litre rise in alcohol availability last year.

A hike in rents and the general cost of living are taking the shine off a significant slowdown in rising food prices, a budgeting service says.

New Zealand's unemployment rate fell to a three-year low in the fourth quarter of 2013 as jobs growth beat expectations.

The most favourable terms of trade for 40 years and a $3.1 billion rise in exports to China were not enough to close the trade gap last year.

Forgetfulness, lack of interest and simply not getting around to it have been revealed as the most common reasons for not voting in the past two general elections.

The South Island has had bigger median income gains than the North over the past seven years, Census figures show.

NZ's population has passed the 4.5 million mark, according to Statistics NZ - meet the baby that pushed us over that milestone.