When is the New Zealand Q1 employment data and how could it affect NZD/USD?

New Zealand quarterly employment report overview

Early Wednesday in Asia, at 22:45 GMT Tuesday the world over, the global market sees the first-quarter (Q1) 2022 employment data from Statistics New Zealand.

With the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) higher-than-expected rate lift, as well as robust inflation and hopes of tighter monetary policy from other major central banks, today’s jobs report becomes crucial for the NZD/USD traders, mainly due to the wage prices index data.

Market consensus suggests no change in the headline Unemployment Rate of 3.2% and the Employment Change figure of 0.1%. Further, the Participation Rate may also remain unchanged at 71.1% but the Labour Cost Index could rise to 3.1% from 2.8%.

Ahead of the data, ANZ said,

On the same line Westpac mentioned,

How could it affect the NZD/USD?

NZD/USD edges lower towards 0.6400, fading the previous day’s bounce off the lowest levels since June 2020, as traders await the key NZ jobs report, as well as the Fed’s verdict.

As the pre-Fed anxiety gains momentum, the NZD/USD prices weaken. However, firmer inflation data at home, coupled with the RBNZ’s readiness to faster normalizing rates, strong employment data will back the consensus of a 0.50% rate hike in the next move, which in turn could offer immediate strength to the Kiwi pair. Even so, the upside momentum is likely to be less impressive considering the market’s cautious mood.

Technically, a descending trend line from August 2021, around 0.6370, lures NZD/USD bears unless the quote rises successfully beyond January’s low near 0.6530.

Key Notes

NZDUSD steady above 0.6400 ahead of NZ employment data, Fed’s decision

NZ Employment Preview: Forecasts from four major banks, another record low

About New Zealand unemployment rate and employment change

The quarterly report on New Zealand's unemployment rate and employment change is being released by Statistics New Zealand.

The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed workers divided by the total civilian labor force. If the rate is up, it indicates a lack of expansion within the New Zealand labor market. As a result, a rise leads to weaken the New Zealand economy. A decrease of the figure is seen as positive (or bullish) for the NZD, while an increase is seen as negative (or bearish).

On the other hand, employment change is a measure of the change in the number of employed people in New Zealand. Generally speaking, a rise in this indicator has positive implications for consumer spending which stimulates economic growth. A high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the NZ dollar, while a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).