New Zealand’s population continued to grow rapidly in 2023 . That was despite a record number of New Zealand citizens departing - most of them for Australia.
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The official unemployment rate has held steady at 3.2 per cent for the March quarter.
But wage growth soared in the quarter.
Annual wage inflation measured
“Households spent more on accommodation, eating out, and purchasing big ticket items such as furniture, audio visual equipment and motor vehicles,” Stats NZ accounts manager Paul Pascoe said. The growth followed a disappointing 1 per cent drop in GDP in the December quarter and immediately fuelled speculation that the Reserve Bank will need to consider raising the Official Cash Rate from 0.25 per cent earlier than expected.
STUFF
The Monitor looks at how individual parts of New Zealand s economy have rebounded since the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Video first published in April 2021. Most economists have been expecting the central bank to start tightening rates around the middle of next year.