The unemployment rate is sitting unchanged at 5.1 percent – despite warnings it might hit a near decade long high of 5.3 percent. The numbers also show some regions have seen an uptick in the number of people out of work – with Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, and Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast all seeing a rise in unemployment rates. But it’s Gisborne and Hawkes Bay that’s seen the highest increase – up to 5.6 percent from 3.4 percent for the December quarter. Lucy Laitinen, the Chief Executive of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Economic Development Agency spoke to Lisa Owen.
