Wellington  - New Zealand's unemployment rate rose to 6 per cent in the second quarter, the government's statistics agency said Thursday.

The increase from the 5-per-cent rate recorded in the previous quarter represented the largest quarterly rise in more than a decade, according to Statistics New Zealand.

The unemployed now number 138,000, and their numbers have increased each quarter since a low of 3.5 per cent in December 2007.

Statistics New Zealand attributed the increase largely to a rise of 15 000 in the number of women unemployed. The number of unemployed men also rose by 8,000 in the past quarter.

During the past 12 months, the number of unemployed has grown by 48,000, the agency said.

Social Development and Employment Minister Paula Bennett said in a statement that the country's unemployment rate compares favorably to the average 8.3 per cent among New Zealand's fellow Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.

Bennett said the government was working hard to turn the economy around to create more jobs.

The next quarterly unemployment figures were due in October. (dpa)