01 Jul 2009
Region's economic growth beats national figure
The Eastern Bay of Plenty has bucked national trends to record better economic growth than the national figure for the March 2009 year.
At +0.3, the growth rate beat the New Zealand figure of -0.9 percent and compared favourably with the full Bay of Plenty region’s rating of +0.5 percent.
Tempered by comparison with the growth rate over the previous March year of 4 percent, it is nevertheless a good result given the tough economic conditions and the fact that the region has recorded generally positive but significantly fluctuating annual economic growth since the March 2002/03 year.
These facts and more are revealed in the first of a series of six-monthly reports monitoring the region’s economy, commissioned by Toi-EDA. Providing an overview profile to set the scene of reports that will follow, it contains valuable information for Toi-EDA’s stakeholders. It was put together by Sean Bevin of Economic Solutions, who has produced separate reports on the Whakatane, Opotiki and Kawerau districts.
Examining economic trends over the past five years as well the medium-term economic outlook, the report also provides growth comparisons with the wider Bay of Plenty region and the country as a whole.
Another surprising trend is revealed in the March employment figures for the region, up 4.2 percent on the same period last year. Total employment was up 0.8 percent on the previous March year, just slightly less than the national level. Retail sales figures for the region were also positive, increasing 3.4 percent through the year.
On the downside, the effects of the economic recession were reflected in the fact that total new building construction work approved in the region over the year fell 34 percent, house sales 42 percent and commercial visitor accommodation sector visitor nights 11 percent.
Mr Bevin predicts economic activity in the region will continue to be soft over the coming year, with a pickup in growth anticipated from around mid-to-late 2010. The same forecast applies to the whole of New Zealand.
The report predicts an eventual fall in the Eastern Bay of Plenty’s present population of 50,510, which is almost 19 per cent of the Bay of Plenty regional total.
This figure is likely to increase slightly over the 2006 - 2011 period, but will then drop gradually to 48,220 by 2031 - a fall of 4.5 percent from the current position. However the number of dwellings in the region is expected to increase by 10 percent over the 2006-2021 period.
View the reports on our Economic Monitoring page
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