According to CoinMeta, New Zealand's unemployment rate rose to its highest level since mid-2015 in the third quarter, reaching 5.7%, which contradicts market expectations of a decline and indicates the country's central bank's cautious attitude towards further interest rate hikes. The New Zealand Statistics Institute reported on Wednesday that part-time employment increased by 15,000 people in the third quarter, while full-time employment decreased by 17,000 people, with the underutilization rate of the labor force remaining at 13.8%. On the eve of the upcoming elections, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) maintained its interest rate at 2.75% unchanged, despite widespread market belief that a rate hike was almost certain. RBNZ Governor Anna Brereman hinted that there could be further interest rate hikes in the future.