The economy may be starting to turn a corner, but it could be a slow turn

Stats NZ figures show the number of filled jobs increased 0.3 percent in November -- the first monthly increase in eight months.

Service sector jobs increased, but the number of primary sector and goods industries jobs declined.

Westpac Senior Economist Michael Gordon says he still expects unemployment to surpass five-percent this year.

He says it does tend to lag a bit, so there's still some GDP weakness to be reflected.