OCR blog 02/09/26
OCR increase will deepen the damage in an already very weak job market, union says
The Reserve Bank’s decision to lift the Official Cash Rate to 2.75% will make life harder for the 171,000 New Zealanders already out of work, says the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions.
“The OCR hike today is not what this country needs”, NZCTU President Sandra Grey said.
The NZCTU said New Zealand has been through a prolonged economic downturn, in large part because of the Reserve Bank’s decision to keep the OCR too high for too long through 2023–24. Raising it again repeats that mistake.
“Unemployment, underutilisation and Jobseeker numbers have all climbed steeply over the past three years, and today’s decision will push them higher still”, Grey said.
“Unemployment can have lifelong financial consequences for the individuals, whānau and communities affected. It can mean lower lifetime earnings and can lock some people out of the labour market for good. It also has deeply negative impacts on people’s mental and physical health and can fracture households and communities.
“A higher OCR will simply make the much-needed economic recovery harder, and will mean further misery for people who are out of work or who can’t get the hours they need."
“The OCR hike today is not what this country needs”, NZCTU President Sandra Grey said.
The NZCTU said New Zealand has been through a prolonged economic downturn, in large part because of the Reserve Bank’s decision to keep the OCR too high for too long through 2023–24. Raising it again repeats that mistake.
“Unemployment, underutilisation and Jobseeker numbers have all climbed steeply over the past three years, and today’s decision will push them higher still”, Grey said.
“Unemployment can have lifelong financial consequences for the individuals, whānau and communities affected. It can mean lower lifetime earnings and can lock some people out of the labour market for good. It also has deeply negative impacts on people’s mental and physical health and can fracture households and communities.
“A higher OCR will simply make the much-needed economic recovery harder, and will mean further misery for people who are out of work or who can’t get the hours they need."