This week will concentrate on the plight of the labor market, as figures on employment levels and wages are unconfined.

It is being forecasted by Westpac that the unemployment rate for the second quarter will climb to 5.7 in the June quarter, the biggest quarterly increase in 18 years.

It was forwarded by Westpac's labor market economist Dominic Stephens that the slowdown will continue in the wage growth.

"New Zealand went into recession in 2008 there was a very tight labor market, which meant that a lot of people who were laid off from jobs were able to find work in other industries," said Mr. Stephens.

However, he clarified that people who have been laid off have been strengthened by the recession, as they have not been so lucky and more of them have ended up in the dole queues. Unemployment rises are the strongest late in the recession, due to this reason.

Mr Stephens concluded: "The forecast is for unemployment to rise to about 6.8% at its peak in this cycle in mid-2010."