WELLINGTON: New Zealand's jobless rate was unchanged in the first quarter as the number of jobs created roughly matched the growth in thee workforce, while wage costs remained contained, backing views the central bank can hold rates for the forseeable future.

The unemployment rate was steady at 5.8 percent, with about 16,000 jobs created, while the participation rate hit a record high of 69.4, according to official data on Wednesday.

Statistics New Zealand said it had revised previous data to reflect growth in the population in the 2013 census. The labour cost index of private sector wages, released at the same time, rose 0.3 percent on the previous quarter, with the annual rate steady at 1.7 percent.

Copyright Reuters, 2015