VIEW: Westpac notes that "the September........>

RBNZ: VIEW: Westpac notes that "the September quarter labour market surveys came

in largely in line with our forecasts. The unemployment rate reversed last

quarter's drop, but it remains at a low level. Wage growth was boosted by a

number of public sector pay agreements, but private sector wage growth also

ticked higher. Overall, the results appear to be a modestly positive surprise

for the Reserve Bank, relative to its (now dated) forecasts in the August

Monetary Policy Statement. This supports our view that the RBNZ will leave the

OCR unchanged at next week's review. The unemployment rate rose from 3.9% to

4.2% in the September quarter, returning to where it was in March. That was in

line with our forecast, though a little above the average market forecast of

4.1%. Stepping back a little, it appears that the unemployment rate has

flattened off over the last year or so, rather than rising as we expected, as

the wider economy has slowed. Jobs growth has softened, as demonstrated by both

the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) and the Quarterly Employment Survey

(QES). But this has been offset by a drop in labour force participation,

particularly among the older age groups as they choose early retirement."