WELLINGTON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Unemployment rate of New Zealand fell to 4.2 percent, close to its 10-year low, announced Statistics New Zealand on Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in the March 2019 quarter, down from 4.3 percent in the December 2018 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said on Wednesday.

"The unemployment rate has been mostly trending down since the global financial crisis in 2008," labour market and household statistics senior manager Jason Attewell from Statistics New Zealand said.

It is understood that the September 2018 quarter unemployment rate of 4.0 percent was the lowest in a decade. The latest 4.2 percent figure saw the unemployment rate falling close to its 10-year low.

The unemployment rate for men was 3.9 percent in the March 2019 quarter, down from 4.4 percent last quarter. For women, it was 4.5 percent, up from 4.2 percent.

The total number of unemployed people in the March 2019 quarter was 116,000. This reflected 7,000 fewer unemployed men and 3,000 more unemployed women.