Economic growth figures out by Christmas

Economic growth figures out by Christmas – Media release

2 December 2016

Gross Domestic Product: September 2016 quarter (GDP) and Balance of Payments and International Investment Position: September 2016 quarter (BOP) will both be published on 22 December 2016, Statistics NZ said today.

The severe earthquake on 14 November caused structural damage to Statistics House in Wellington and staff have been unable to return to the building. Statistics NZ’s computer systems were also affected by the quake. We have not lost any data but a number of our systems needed to be brought back up to restore all our services.

Despite the significant disruption caused by the 7.8 magnitude quake last month, the publication of GDP has only been delayed by a week from the original pre-quake release date of 15 December. Balance of Payments were originally scheduled for release on 14 December.

See our release calendar for the latest update and we will advise if there are further changes. We will continue to update the calendar for customers to understand our latest publishing schedule. Media will be advised at a later date if a media lock-up is possible for GDP and BOP in the circumstances.

“Our people have shown the kind of resilience and tenacity we expect to get the job done, even under such extraordinary and trying circumstances,” Government Statistician Liz MacPherson said. “Our teams have worked long hours in the past three weeks to get to point where we now have confidence in setting a new date to release GDP.

“For Stats people it is a point of some professional pride to do everything we can to achieve our planned schedule. We understand many of our customers plan around our release dates.”

The GDP and BOP figures are vital for forecasting by the Reserve Bank and Treasury and will be keenly watched by international markets as important indicators of the New Zealand economy.

“Some of our teams were initially working out of a community hall in Wellington. We have now secured space for all Wellington staff to return to central-city offices in coming weeks, as we continue the journey back to business-as-usual. I want to thank them for their tireless efforts,” Ms MacPherson said.

“We have also had tremendous support from our friends and colleagues all around Wellington, with many offers of help and space for our teams to work from temporarily.

“Without their help, Statistics NZ would have faced an even rockier road to recovery,” she said.

However, Statistics NZ release calendar has been disrupted and we are working on an updated calendar for January.

Statistics NZ resumed data releases from Monday, 21 November.

Other upcoming releases, aside from GDP and BOP, will be delayed, but Statistics NZ staff are working hard to minimise these delays.

We apologise for the delays and regret any inconvenience caused.

We thank our thousands of regular stats users around the country for their patience and understanding since 14 November.

Ends

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