Can a student who doesn’t flourish at school catch up through tertiary education? Second chance learners can improve their prospects, but based on an analysis of average earnings, people who attain lower qualifications at school remain at a disadvantage several years after graduating from tertiary education. Read

Many of us have come to accept that doing the right thing for the environment comes with a higher cost. However, our recent analysis for the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) found that households can be substantially better off with the benefits of a greener home. Read

Fuel is critically important to any economy, given it literally powers and enables the movement of goods and people, supports production, and underpins supply chains. A stable, secure, and affordable fuel supply helps maintain economic stability, and so knowing where fuel is sourced from better informs security of supply and the importance of strong trading relationships. Read

Budget 2025 was delivered amid a backdrop of rising global uncertainty, dragging broader economic expectations lower and making fiscal settings more constrained. Domestic economic activity is still set to recover, but Budget 2025 also reinforced views that the government will be less of a driving force for this recovery, as more focus is shifted to households and the private sector to rev up New Zealand’s economic engines. Read

There are some early, small, tentative signs of a turnaround according to Infometrics’ latest monitoring of regional economies, but tough conditions remained for many areas and sectors at the end of 2024. Read

As has been the case across other areas of the economy, the transport industry showed some re-emergence of cost pressures in the March 2025 quarter. Repairs and maintenance costs jumped 4. 8% over the quarter to be 14% higher than a year ago, which was the fastest rate of increase since 2022. A 1. Read

The pace of supplier cost increases to Foodstuffs supermarkets remained steady in April, with the Infometrics-Foodstuffs New Zealand Grocery Supplier Cost Index (GSCI) showing an average 2.0% increase in what suppliers charged in April 2025, compared to a year earlier. Read

A new report from leading economics consultancy Infometrics shows building better homes could save New Zealanders tens of thousands in energy bills and mortgage costs. The report, commissioned by the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) and released today (Wednesday 7 May) at their annual Housing Summit, reveals homes built to a 6 Homestar standard can save New Zealand homeowners over $62,000 in electricity and mortgage interest over 30 years Read

Earlier this month we introduced the New Zealand Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation (NZDep) to the Regional Economic Profile Census section. In this article we discuss NZDep and what it can tell us about our communities. Read

New data from Stats NZ shows a number of items becoming more popular over time, particularly as technology shifts, while other products fall out of favour with households as preferences change. Read