23 August 2017

Wellington’s economy going from strength to strength

The good days keep on coming for Wellington, with strong economic growth and a falling unemployment rate.

According to the Infometrics Quarterly Economic Update, economic growth increased to 2.5% in the year to June, up from 2.2% in the year to March. Unemployment fell to 4.6%.

“Wellington is going gangbusters,” Wellington Mayor Justin Lester says.

“It’s great to see a strong run of growth continuing. Good, high-paying jobs are a part of what attracts people to Wellington, and they are vital for a growing city.

“This report also shows Wellington is making good progress on housing with a 42% increase in the number of new residential consents in the past year. Affordable, accessible housing is a key priority for our city and it’s good to see we are making progress at increasing the supply of homes.”

Wellington City Council’s Economic Development Portfolio Leader, Councillor Simon Marsh, says the growth is broad-based across a range of different sectors, but retail spending has had a particularly strong increase.

“Electronic card spending on retail sales increased by 2.1% over the year to June, when compared to the previous year. That’s despite the November earthquake and the related business closures and temporary closures.

“This is another sign that Wellington’s businesses are resilient and have bounced back strongly from the earthquake. It’s a real credit to Wellington’s business people to post this result despite all the challenges they have faced.”

Along with the increase in the number of people in jobs, the rate of people on jobseeker benefits in the capital fell by 4.1%.

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