Migrants pack bags

New Zealand’s annual net migration continued to fall from record levels last year as more migrants leave.

Net migration was 62,733 in the year ended September 30, down from 63,288 in August and 70,986 a year earlier, Statistics New Zealand said.

Migrant arrivals fell 2 per cent to 128,982, while departures climbed 9.3 per cent to 66,249, the highest number for a September year since 2013.

Annual non-New Zealand citizen departures climbed 18 per cent to 31,768, while local departures were up 2.5 per cent to 34,481. Australia has traditionally been the destination of choice for people leaving New Zealand but just 4572 non-Kiwis went across the ditch.

“The big factor continuing to weigh on migration is departures of non-New Zealand citizens to areas other than Australia, which has remained high,” Westpac Banking Corp senior economist Satish Ranchhod said. “That’s actually an echo of the increase in arrivals of those on temporary work and student visas that we saw in previous years. We expect that departures will remain high for some time yet.”

Tourism has been another plank supporting the economy.