Economic recovery is taking longer than many hoped. 

Unemployment's risen to a five-year high of 5.2%, up from 5.1% in the March quarter. 

New Zealand officially moved out of recession last year. 

The Herald's Liam Dann told Kerre Woodham the job market is taking longer to catch up, so many people may not be feeling better off. 

He says economists can tell us numbers are improving, but it takes longer for life to improve. 

Dann says anxiety about job security and AI is having ripple effects across the economy. 

He says a lot of professional people are uncertain about the future, and that's putting them off spending money. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.