New GDP figures from Stats NZ show the economy grew at an annual rate of 0.8 percent, but the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi says the numbers point to an economy still under serious pressure.
CTU President Sandra Grey says the latest data may represent a high-water mark before the full economic impacts of conflict in the Gulf are felt.
She says growth remains weak, unemployment is high, consumer confidence is low, and many working people are not seeing any benefit from the Government’s economic approach.
While manufacturing grew during the quarter, annual manufacturing output remains down 0.7 percent compared with a year ago. Residential construction is also struggling, with real residential construction down 4.5 percent annually and overall construction output now 20 percent lower than in 2023.
The CTU says business investment is also weaker than it was two years ago in real terms, reflecting a private sector that has been reluctant to invest in an economy marked by low growth and fewer customers.
Grey says real GDP per person remains well below recent levels, with annual real GDP per capita now $1,447 lower than in 2023.
She says working people are going backwards, with wages and salaries falling in real terms and the workers’ share of the economy declining for two years in a row. At the same time, a broad measure of profits rose by 6.9 percent on an annual average basis.
The CTU says the figures show the Government’s growth strategy is failing. Over the past two years, the economy has grown by $2.38 million a day in real terms, compared with $31.1 million a day between 2021 and 2023.
Grey says New Zealand’s annual growth is now lower than Australia and the OECD average, and the country needs a new economic direction that supports jobs, wages and investment.
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