Taranaki regional development agency, Te Puna Umanga/Venture Taranaki, have launched today the Summer 2022 edition of Taranaki Trends. The six-monthly publication explores how our regional economy is tracking and includes facts and figures on the annual growth experienced in the September 2022 quarter and covers key economic indicators.

The launch of the summer edition will be followed by a Taranaki Insights 2023 event hosted by Venture Taranaki, on Thursday 23 February, where attendees will hear further analysis on the data presented in the publication. 

Guest speaker Dr Ganesh Nana, Chair of the Productivity Commission Te Kōmihana Whai Hua o Aotearoa, will also share views on the national economic outlook for 2023, insights relevant to Taranaki, and more.

"Off the back of launching the Summer Taranaki Trends and acknowledging affordability over the next 12-months may be tough, we want to bring the business community, and anyone interested in the state of our economy together, to reconnect, and take away information and insights to help make informed decisions and achieve business success in 2023 and beyond," explains Venture Taranaki GM Investment and Deputy Chief Executive, Stacey Hitchcock.

The latest Taranaki Trends highlights the region’s economic performance experienced by the September 2022 quarter. Economic growth is reflected in key indicators such as regional GDP (up 1.1%), consumer spending (up 9.8%), and a spotlight on a contracted labour supply looks at our higher employment levels and comparatively low unemployment rate (2.9%).

"The Taranaki unemployment rate hasn’t been this low since 2006, when it was at 2.4%. Across the country, we are seeing a trend of low unemployment," says Hitchcock.

"Although it is positive there’s an increase of people within Taranaki securing employment, we know many industries and businesses are still struggling with a restricted supply of labour which has flow-on effects through all aspects of a business. A restricted labour supply also creates a hot labour market, increasing competition between businesses for talent to fill skills gaps," says Hitchcock.

"We’re proactively working with businesses to seek out new national and international talent and look at ways to adapt their business processes to help mitigate the impacts of this challenging time," says Hitchcock.

Passenger movement through the New Plymouth Airport is on a steady incline with the reopening of the borders in July 2022. At the highest peak, around 36,000 passengers have made their way through the New Plymouth Airport doors a month.

"It’s pleasing to see passenger movement through the New Plymouth Airport has bounced back to almost the same numbers prior to COVID-19 disruptions," says Hitchcock.

With communities feeling more confident to travel, and the agency’s ongoing work to attract visitors to the region, visitor expenditure also saw an increase compared to the previous year. Total visitor expenditure in region increased 10.9% in the year to October 2022, echoing a 9.4% increase in New Zealand for the same period. Visitor spend by district in Taranaki, showed that South Taranaki recorded the biggest growth compared with year 2019, followed by the Stratford District and the New Plymouth District.

Consumer spend remains strong, with electronic card consumer spending up 9.8% over the year compared to the same period last year, although this generally reflects the higher prices experienced over the past 12 months. This increase ranks Taranaki as the top consumer spend growth region when compared nationally. 

Increasing prices of day-to-day expenses can be felt across the board and triggers other inflationary pressures identified in the report such as the significant continual rising of the cost of living, as well as the cost of construction, transportation, and farming expenses.

This rise in cost is having a considerable impact on enterprise profitability. For example, farmers are confronted with significant increases in operational costs such as feed, fuel, and fertiliser, with the flow on impacting their operations and livelihoods.

"Many households will also be feeling the pinch of interest rate rises. This is impacting the housing market, which is now cooling as a result, and this can be observed across New Zealand as well as in construction."

"As we head into 2023, it is anticipated that economic conditions will continue to tighten. We will be working closely with industry leaders, stakeholders, and businesses to monitor the situation, and continue to provide enterprise support centred on resilience, growth, and innovation. We also encourage anyone interested to attend our upcoming Taranaki Insights 2023 event," says Hitchcock.

The Taranaki Insights 2023 event will be held on 23 February 2023 at the Novotel New Plymouth. It will delve into the economic trends noted above alongside business confidence discussions concerning the year ahead.

The full Taranaki Trends Summer 2022 report is available here

Taranaki Trends