Page 11 - Chamber Voice Magazine Autumn 2024

ECONOMIC INSIGHT TO THE MARLBOROUGH REGION

Infometrics Quarterly Economic Monitor - December 2023
Overview of national economy
Economic pressures are mounting across New Zealand, with higher interest rates restricting spending
activity across the economy. Household spending growth is below the rate of inflation, indicating lower
sales volumes, and with population growth running at a nearly 80-year high, spending per-person has
contracted considerably. Infometrics provisional estimates show a 0.2%pa fall in economic activity in the
December 2023 quarter, dragging year-end growth down to just 0.7%pa.
Construction activity is lower too, and future intentions to build continue to fall too. Jobs activity remains
firm, but wider slack in the labour market has seen the unemployment rate increase as migration fuels
growth in the labour force, but businesses are hiring less. Our expanded range of socioeconomic
indicators also provide a wider view of local trends, with rent data showing the migration pressures on
the housing market, for example.

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