Rising unemployment is expected to add to the case for a lower OCR. 

Unemployment's hit a five-year high of 5.2% and is expected to rise further. 

Economists now broadly expect the Reserve Bank to cut the Official Cash Rate by another 25-basis-points to 3% in two weeks. 

BNZ Chief Economist Mike Jones told Mike Hosking further cuts now seem likely. 

He says his team have been forecasting a neutral rate of 2.75% for years, but there's a chance the OCR could get to 2.5 percent in the current cycle. 

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