Articles

New Zealand’s labour market data is often reduced to a single headline number – the unemployment rate. But that narrow focus risks missing the much broader story playing out beneath the surface.

The pace of supplier cost increases to Foodstuffs supermarkets in April was slightly lower than last month, with the Infometrics-Foodstuffs New Zealand Grocery Supplier Cost Index (GSCI) showing an average 2.0% increase in what suppliers charged in April 2026, compared with a year earlier.

New Zealand’s persistently weak productivity performance has become one of the defining economic challenges of recent decades, weighing on income growth, public finances, and the country’s ability to deliver the infrastructure and housing it needs.

What do Kaipara, Kawerau, Otorohanga, Christchurch and Selwyn have in common? They all make their district valuation roll (DVR) available to the public through LINZ’s NZ Properties dataset. In this weeks’ insight, we dive into Christchurch City’s DVR data to highlight what is possible, and encourage more councils to share their DVR data.

Hiring decisions in New Zealand’s labour market appear to be becoming more cautious at the margins.

New Zealand households are spending more but getting less for it. The latest electronic card transactions data points to a growing disconnect between nominal spending and actual consumption, as sharp rises in fuel prices push up total outlays while underlying volumes continue to decline.

The Reserve Bank has a big job ahead of it bringing pricing behaviour and inflation pressures under control, according to Infometrics’ latest economic forecasts.

The pace of supplier cost increases to Foodstuffs supermarkets in March was slightly lower than last month, with the Infometrics-Foodstuffs New Zealand Grocery Supplier Cost Index (GSCI) showing an average 2.1% increase in what suppliers charged in March 2026, compared with a year earlier.

A sharp deterioration in confidence across both households and businesses signals that the economic impact of the recent global oil shock is already taking hold in New Zealand, even before any physical fuel shortages emerge.

The spike in fuel prices over the last month, since the Iran war started, has reignited significant inflationary concerns across the economy, not least across the construction industry.