Articles

Boxing Day spending was big for 2024, but looking at the broader Christmas spending trends implies that shoppers are still conscious about how they’re spending, and it appears that shoppers are looking for bargains before being convinced to part with their cash.

Stats NZ released the first detailed tranche of 2023 Census data today, including detail on individuals and households down to a small area level. In this article, we share ten insights from the 2023 Census.

In this article Principal Consultant, Rob Heyes, looks how households have fared with recent cost-of-living pressures. For many households, income growth has kept pace with cost increases. But there’s evidence that increasing numbers of households have been facing economic hardship since the start of the pandemic and are likely to continue to do so for the rest of this year at least.

Renters across New Zealand are feeling the squeeze as annual new rentals inflation reaches 5.1%pa. Excluding the mid-2022 peak, annual average rental inflation over the year to February 2024 is at its fastest rate since this series began in 2008.

We economists can be a tactless bunch. Last week’s announcement that the economy had contracted for the fourth time in five quarters was greeted with comments about how the recession was necessary, and that the extent of the contraction only highlighted to serve how overheated...

High inflation in recent years has prompted much discussion about how households are adjusting their spending to cope. Although wages have been increasing too, meaning that households can also afford more, we haven’t had a clear idea of the changing preferences and priorities that dictate what households are spending more or less on.

Electric vehicle (EV) uptake in New Zealand has been accelerating over the last few years. Uptake was helped along with financial incentives including the Clean Car Discount scheme and the exemption of EVs from paying road user charges (RUC). With the discount scheme gone and EV owners about to start paying RUC, the trajectory is likely to change.

Wholesale interest rates fell sharply last week, with the two-year swap rate falling 29 basis points on 14 December. Rates are now sitting at a nine-month low, adding downward pressure to retail interest rates.

This article explores recent patterns in domestic or internal migration between 2021 and 2022 using a new dataset from Stats NZ, exploring potential factors that shape the flow of Kiwis throughout the country.

Record high net migration over the past year has been a lifeboat for New Zealand’s economic growth, dominating recent trends in employment, housing demand, and demography. Quarterly net migration is now beginning to soften from its early 2023 peak as migrant arrivals grow slower, and departures from New Zealand accelerate.