By the numbers Covid-19’s biggest hits

Way fewer flights, increasing benefit numbers, about half the spending, and a record low for business confidence – data shows Covid-19 has hit New Zealand hard. By Steven Walton.

Last month, the number of people on the Jobseeker benefit increased, the cost of a hotel room in Queenstown nearly halved, and consumer confidence – a measure of people’s feelings about the economy – was at a level last seen during the 2008 global financial crisis.

These are just some statistics that reflect the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, which has so far infected nearly 1500 people in New Zealand and left 21 dead.

The country’s economy, which was mostly closed for the four-week lockdown between March 26 and April 27, has borne a heavy brunt.

ANZ’s business confidence index – a measure of the country’s business conditions – has dropped to its lowest point since 1988.

Card spending, according to figures from BNZ, was down by 50.1 per cent last month, while the day lockdown was announced, March 23, the New Zealand sharemarket closed at its lowest point in nearly two years.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Chris Roberts warned this week up to half of tourism’s 393,000 jobs could be lost without further Government intervention.

Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford estimated 7500 retail workers have already lost their jobs, and he expected the number to rise ‘‘substantially’’ once the Government’s wage subsidy ran out.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the ‘‘global, one-in-100-year health and economic crisis’’ of Covid-19 would contribute to a rise in unemployment.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson warned when the 12-week wage subsidy was first announced that he hoped to save some jobs, ‘‘but we will not be able to save all jobs’’.

As of last Friday, the Government had paid out $10.6 billion of the wage subsidy to 1.72 million people.

Data from the Ministry of Social Development showed the number of people on the Jobseeker benefit jumped from about 145,000 before lockdown to just over 184,000 at the start of this month.

This is higher than the peak of the global financial crisis, at 174,630.

Businesses want more support, too. Twothirds of 217 Restaurant Association members who completed a recent survey wanted rent relief and a business subsidy to help them survive.

Twenty-five of these respondents said they would permanently close their businesses.

Hospitality New Zealand chief executive Julie White said an extended wage subsidy and cashflow support could be the difference between 20 per cent or 40 per cent of the industry closing.

Other sectors have been hit hard by coronavirus, too.

Real estate company Barfoot & Thompson showed an 86.4 per cent decrease in the number of house listings in Auckland last month compared with March.

Air New Zealand flew just 22 domestic flights a week during lockdown, down from the usual 400-plus a day.

Yesterday, it was confirmed 300 of the airline’s pilots would be made redundant while 900 would take a 30 per cent pay cut.

Wellington Airport reported a 96 per cent drop in flights last month.

Christchurch Airport, meanwhile, has seen passenger numbers drop by about 97 per cent.