Questions abound as New Zealand’s unemployment rate could hit a record low this week. Tom Pullar-Strecker asks in Stuff if it’s really possible that 97% of eligible New Zealanders are employed at the moment. Part of the problem might rest with how StatsNZ collects data and defines employment, or the lack of it. Being counted as a worker gets complicated. But however you look at things, a lot of local employers need workers. Wellington buses ply the city’s streets with their front marquee calling for drivers, while “Help Wanted” ads are ubiquitous across the country.

Some workers are seizing the moment to quit and ask for more money and perks. The NZ Herald (paywalled) looks at the Bay of Plenty where there’s a tussle between employees looking for more and bosses resisting what they deem unrealistic salary demands. Friday’s edition of The Bulletin focused on how the highest inflation rate in a generation is pushing up wages. It’s also more than money, with some workers asking for more annual leave, trips, as well as paid yoga and pilates memberships. Local recruiters have reported that experienced applicants have been turned down over their salary demands, but things are shifting fast in the region. Even the horticultural industry is now paying a living wage or above.

Facing a worker crunch, farmers are again warning that crops could be left to rot before harvest this year. A South Canterbury farm family told One News that they haven’t been able to bring over nine skilled harvest workers from overseas despite a government programme announced in December. Spots at the border for 200 workers have yet to materialise, with the government blaming omicron for the delay. The Canterbury farm’s vast fields are turned into more than 15 million loaves of bread annually and the farmers warn that without those workers, bread prices will go up this year. Similar warnings were made by other farmers last year, but since then, the small number of backpackers and excess workers who helped fill gaps have disappeared.