Quake rebuilding reflected in regions’ performance

NELSON and Canterbury are leading the economic surge in the South Island, with Auckland dipping to third spot in the national rankings, according to a bank report.

The latest ASB Regional Economic Scoreboard report also shows Wellington is in the middle of the pack of 16 regions, while Southland sits at the bottom of the rankings.

Nelson leads the rankings, with strong growth in retail spending and a surge in home-building as the region expands to house people moving there from Canterbury after the earthquake.

The quake rebuild has flowed through to greater economic activity around the South Island.

Wellington’s economic performance remains mixed, as public sector cutbacks have been reflected in the region’s job figures in the past year.

Shop spending in Wellington is subdued, and employment has been restrained, even though consumer confidence has held up.

The survey gave Wellington a two-star ranking and said it was ‘‘in need of energy injection’’.

Job numbers in Wellington slid 1 per cent in the past year to 269,000.

Retail trade rose just 1 per cent in the June year.

But ASB said quake repairs and building strengthening should boost non-residential construction in coming years around the capital.

Economic activity in Wellington remains weighed down by public-sector restraint, ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said.

House price rises in Wellington have been subdued in the June year, at 2.4 per cent higher, compared with the rest of the country

But there has been a strong lift in residential and commercial construction.