Wellington Economy Moving Forward

5 February 2014

Wellington Economy Moving Forward

Research released today conducted by Infometrics and commissioned by Wellington City Council shows an increase in productivity, taking Wellington City to 29.2 % higher than the national level and paints a generally positive picture of the Capital City economy moving forward at pace.

Key findings of the Wellington City Annual Economic Profile include:

• GDP in Wellington City for the year to March 2013 is up 2.6% to $17,930m from a year earlier, in line with New Zealand’s GDP which increased by 2.6% over the same period.
• Higher value-adding, knowledge based service industries – which includes organisations like Xero - accounted for the largest proportion of GDP (55.2%) inWellington City. This has increased from 54.8% in 2012. Nationally these industries accounted for 31.1% of the economy.
• GDP per employee in Wellington city increased by 1.9% to $118,074 in the year to March 2013, compared with a 1.7 % increase nationally. This takes Wellington Cityproductivity to 29.2% higher than the national level.
• Population growth which is an indicator of Wellington city’s attractiveness as a place to work and live was 0.9% over 12 months, increasing the population to 204,000.New Zealand’s total population also grew by 0.9% over the same period.
• Total employment in Wellington city averaged 151,853 in the year to March 2013, up 0.7% from a year earlier. Employment in New Zealand increased by 0.8% over the same period.
• Professional, scientific and technical services made the largest contribution to employment growth in Wellington City between 2012 and 2013 with the industry adding 968 jobs. The next largest contributor was public administration and safety (689 jobs) followed by financial and insurance services (299 jobs).

Councillor Jo Coughlan, the Chair of Economic Growth and Arts Committee, says that the profile confirms that the Economic Strategy set by Council in 2011 is already producing encouraging results. “The strategy is focussed on creating a business environment where innovative, creative and knowledge-intensive firms can flourish. Attracting talent to Wellingtonthrough the Destination Wellington programme and protecting and enhancing the central city's role as the economic engine room of the region leads to economic growth.”

The Annual Economic Profile is great news for Wellington says Mayor Celia Wade-Brown. “The profile shows that our Smart Capital vision is working and we're continuing to attract talent, enable high quality jobs and diversify the economy. There's more to be done in ensuring the health of the economy and Council’s Growth Agenda, in collaboration with the business, arts and education sectors will accelerate investment and success.”

The Wellington City Annual Economic Profile is the first report produced that provides annual economic information for Wellington City when compared with the previous year. Prior reports provided information at a Wellington regional level. The profile will be repeated annually from now on.

ENDS

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