The record high unemployment rate is because of actions in the strait of Hormuz

Misleading
Wynston Peters
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Winston Peters said the rise in unemployment (to an 11-year high of 5.6% in the June 2026 quarter) was "directly attributable to the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, and the resulting increase to fuel costs."

Actual economists attribute the increase to a combination of monetary policy, structural labour market issues, the RBNZ's deliberate cool-down stance to curb inflation, unemployment growth outstripping labour demand, increased migration, and suppressed wage growth. This makes the Hormuz link, at most, one minor contributing factor rather than the direct cause Peters described.