Migration flatters growth stats
A booming Kiwifruit industry made Bay of Plenty the fastest growing part of the country, while plunging oil and dairy prices saw Taranaki’s economic output record a remarkable plunge.
Meanwhile although Auckland’s population is booming, the amount New Zealand’s largest city is producing per person is growing, but not nearly as fast as other regions over the past three, or seven years.
Figures released by Statistics New Zealand on Thursday reveal the relative speed with which New Zealand’s regions grew in the year to March 31, 2016.
Although at a nationwide level more recent economic growth figures are available, Statistics New Zealand publishes regional breakdowns a year after the period the figures refer to.
While across New Zealand economic output (gross domestic product) on a per person basis, grew at 2 per cent in 12 months, some regions were booming, while three were in decline.
Bay of Plenty recorded the biggest gain both in overall terms, but more importantly on a per capita (per person) basis, growing 5.6 per cent to $44,997.
Taranaki’s per person GDP remains the highest in the country, despite its output per person plunging 9.3 per cent, from $78,625 to $71,297.
As well as falling dairy prices, Taranaki – the home of New Zealand’s oil and gas sector – was hit by a sharp fall in global oil prices in 2015 and 2016, which resulted in a large number of projects in the sector being cancelled.
Despite the fall, Taranaki’s output was almost twice as much per person as Northland ($36,531) and Gisborne $36,955).
Wellington had the second-highest output per person at $67,888, followed by Auckland at $58,717.
The figures reveal the extent to which population growth is flattering New Zealand’s economic growth figures, with record net migration driving population growth to a 40-year high.
In a press release, Statistics New Zealand heralded Auckland’s growth at 6 per cent and 4.1 per cent across New Zealand.
However, on a per person basis, Auckland grew at 3.1 per cent while the national figure was 2 per cent.
Overall 12 of New Zealand’s regions expanded in the year to March 31, 2016, while Taranaki, Southland and the West Coast contracted.
It was the second year in a row that the Taranaki, West Coast and Southland economies contracted.
The figures also show which parts of the country have outperformed the others over a longer time period, and although Auckland’s population is booming, its output is closer to the middle of the pack.
A wind-down in the Christchurch rebuild meant that Canterbury’s economy grew by just 1.2 per cent on a per person basis in the year to March 31, 2016.
But over the seven years since 2009, Canterbury has been the strongest growing region in New Zealand, by some margin, growing 33.48 per cent followed by Marlborough and the Bay of Plenty.
Since 2009 all parts of the country have grown apart from Taranaki, where output per person is down 9.64 per cent.
Over the period since 2013 Marlborough was streets ahead, expanding 16.38 per cent in three years, followed by Canterbury (12.7 per cent) and Northland (12.46 per cent).