The New Zealand economy faces continued difficult conditions throughout the next 12 months according to Infometrics’ latest forecasts, with increased caution from businesses around investment and hiring in response to weakening demand. Reduced job and income security is becoming a major drag on cons... Read

Economics consulting firm Infometrics is pleased to announce that Nick Brunsdon, Principal Economist and Lead Demographer, has been appointed to our board of directors. Read

Stefan Rood recently joined the Infometrics Team as a Senior Analyst. Stefan is well known to us as he previously worked for MSD, one of our clients. This, coupled with Stefan's data analysis skills, gives him a unique perspective and insider advantage when in comes to improving our client's experience, and developing new economic products. Read

At the peak in mid-2022, on-farm costs rose 15%pa, more than double the peak consumer inflation rate. But inflation has now clearly turned a corner and is moderating, a trend also seen in on-farm costs, with the annual gain to March 2024 just 1.2%pa – the slowest rise since the start of 2021. Read

Although a lot of the discussion around migration over the last year has focused on the record high inflows into New Zealand, the outflow of people from New Zealand has now also lifted to a record high, 11% above the previous maximum in 2011/12. Read

Last week Stats NZ released the first tranche of data from the 2023 Census, an exciting milestone for anyone with a thirst for regional or socioeconomic data. With the prior Census held in 2018, this represents the first Census data since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we dive into the first tranche of data, explain why the good stuff is yet to come, and raise a note of caution for population comparisons with the first tranche of data. Read

The housing market has been one of the key indicators of increasing stress for households over the last few months. After a mild but short-lived rally during early and mid-2023, buyer demand has softened again, as mortgage rates remain high and expectations of interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank get pushed further into the future. Read

With Budget 2024 fast approaching, there’s a lot more focus on tax than before. The coalition government has vowed to deliver tax relief to most households, although the final design and cost of the tax package is yet to be revealed. But questions continue to be asked about if tax relief is inflatio... Read

School attendance rates have come under the spotlight recently as the coalition government has set itself lofty targets to raise New Zealand’s very poor school attendance record. Read

A deteriorating economic climate continues to make life difficult for regional economies, according to Infometrics’ latest monitoring of regional economies. The March 2024 Infometrics Quarterly Economic Monitor suggests that economic activity in the first three months of 2024 was 0.3%pa higher than ... Read