Statistics New Zealand announced the unemployment rate in the country fell to 4.8 percent in the second quarter of 2017 from an unrevised 4.9 percent in the first quarter. That was the lowest unemployment rate since the last quarter of 2008 and in-line with economists' forecast.

The data also showed that the number of employed people fell 0.2 percent q-o-q in the second quarter (compared to a 1.2 percent q-o-q increase in the first quarter), while the number of unemployed decreased by 2.2 percent q-o-q (compared to a 4.4 percent q-o-q drop in the previous quarter). The employment rate fell to 66.7 percent in the second quarter, down from 67.1 percent in the first quarter. The labour force participation rate declined by 0.6 percentage point to 70, retreating from an all-time high of 70.6 percent seen in the prior quarter. Average hourly earnings increased 0.8 percent q-o-q to $30.09.