Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

COVID-19 Sees Record 12.2 Percent Fall In New Zealand’s Economy

Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 12.2 percent in the June 2020 quarter, the largest quarterly fall recorded since the current series began in 1987, as the COVID-19 restrictions in place through the quarter impacted economic activity, Stats NZ said today.

“The 12.2 percent fall in quarterly GDP is by far the largest on record in New Zealand,” national accounts senior manager Paul Pascoe said.

Measures to contain COVID-19 have led to historically large falls in GDP in many parts of the world, with countries’ results reflecting the nature and timing of their responses, and the structure of their economies. For example, New Zealand’s result compares to falls of 7.0 percent in Australia, 11.5 percent in Canada, 7.9 percent in Japan, 20.4 percent in the United Kingdom, and 9.1 percent in the United States.

New Zealand started the June 2020 quarter in alert level 4 lockdown, with strict restrictions on the activities of both households and businesses. On 8 June 2020 New Zealand reached alert level 1, which saw the removal of physical distancing requirements.

“While level 4 restrictions were in place for most of April, the gradual return to level 1 over the course of the quarter meant that businesses were able to open up again and many people returned to places of work,” Mr Pascoe said.

New Zealand’s border closed to incoming international travellers on 19 March 2020 and remained closed throughout the June 2020 quarter.

Some industries were more affected than others by the border closure and alert levels restrictions in place during the June quarter.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“Industries like retail, accommodation and restaurants, and transport saw significant declines in production because they were most directly affected by the international travel ban and strict nationwide lockdown,” Mr Pascoe said.

“Other industries, like food and beverage manufacturing, were essential services and fell much less.”

The majority of construction activity and some of the manufacturing sub industries were deemed non-essential and so temporarily shut under alert level 4. Construction declined by 25.8 percent, and manufacturing fell by 13.0 percent.

The fall in production was paralleled by declines in household spending, which fell 12.1 percent over the quarter. Expenditure on household services such as domestic and international air transport and restaurant and takeaway meals fell sharply. Exports of travel services declined, as international visitor spending fell after the border closed.

Annually, GDP fell by 2.0 percent. This is the first annual decline since the March 2010 quarter.

GDP per capita fell by 12.6 percent in the June 2020 quarter.

The speed and scale of COVID-19 response measures presented a number of measurement challenges in the June 2020 quarter. In compiling estimates of GDP, Stats NZ has used additional data and analysis to respond to areas where the standard approach has limitations. This additional work means that the impact of COVID-19 over the course of the quarter is accounted for as accurately as possible to produce reliable first estimates of GDP.

“Today’s results represent the first official estimate of overall economic activity in the June 2020 quarter” Mr Pascoe said.

“As always, we’d expect to refine and revise this initial view as more complete data becomes available. This quarter is clearly not business-as-usual and there is generally a higher level of uncertainty associated with measuring such significant changes in economic activity. We have used extra data and careful analysis to minimise this uncertainty and provide a reliable first estimate for the quarter.”

GDP estimates will be updated as more detailed but less timely information comes to hand. This is in line with standard practice in New Zealand and internationally.

More detail about Stats NZ’s approach to measurement challenges this quarter is available in June 2020 quarter Gross domestic product and COVID-19 and June 2020 quarter Gross domestic product and COVID-19: Updated

Key travel restrictions and COVID-19 alert system timeline:

19 March 2020: New Zealand’s borders closed to almost all travellers, except for returning New Zealanders.

25 March 2020: New Zealand enters COVID-19 alert level 4

27 April 2020: New Zealand enters COVID-19 alert level 3

13 May 2020: New Zealand enters COVID-19 alert level 2

8 June 2020: New Zealand enters COVID-19 alert level 1

Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker compares the timing and stringency of New Zealand’s response to those of other countries.

For more information about these statistics:

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.