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

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

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

New analysis from Infometrics, first released to Infometrics clients last week, shows that returning the GST charged on local council rates back to councils would cost the government $1.1b. This amount of money would then be available for local councils to help fund the services and investments bein... Read

Principal Economist, Brad Olsen, examines rising local government costs. With expectations that rates rises in 2024 will be the largest since local council reforms in 1989... Read

We are excited to launch an expansion of our Quarterly Economic Monitor (QEM) to provide a broader perspective on the prosperity of New Zealand’s communities. In this article, we introduce and explore the 13 new indicators which reflect economic, labour, social, and housing outcomes at a local level. Read

Still too-high inflation and considerably higher interest rates are combining to constrain economic activity across New Zealand, according to Infometrics’ latest monitoring of regional economies. Read

The knowledge economy matters because it drives innovation and productivity growth and is the engine of sophisticated economies. Knowledge industries also help improve our wellbeing through better healthcare, and they nurture the next generation by providing them with new skills through education and training. In this article I draw on data from the recently published 2023 Infometrics Regional Economic Profile and investigate the growth of knowledge intensive employment in New Zealand. The analysis details which parts of the economy have contributed most to knowledge intensive growth, and which regions lead the pack in knowledge intensity. Read