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RNZ News
23-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Employment confidence levels remain low
Photo: Unsplash Employment confidence remains near the lows seen during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. The Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index rose by 0.5 points to 88.8 in the June quarter, and was little changed over the past year. An index number over 100 indicates optimists outnumbered pessimists. "A perceived lack of job opportunities remains the key concern for New Zealand households," Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said. However, he said the results were encouraging because they suggested the rise in the unemployment rate over the last couple of years may be peaking. "That said, people were more pessimistic this quarter about an improvement in job prospects in the year ahead." The survey results were mixed across regions. Southland saw the biggest improvement for the quarter and was the most confident region. However, other dairying-intensive regions, such as Waikato and Taranaki fared poorly. Among the main centres, Auckland saw a solid lift in confidence, but Wellington and Christchurch were down slightly. McDermott Miller research director Imogen Rendall said private sector employees were less confident than those in the public sector. "Confidence amongst employees working in the private sector has further eroded this quarter with a drop of 2.9 points down to 85.0, while public sector employees' confidence has increased 7 points up to 96.2," she said.
RNZ News
17-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Consumer confidence perks up slightly
Photo: 123rf Consumers are slightly less pessimistic, but still struggling in the face of high living costs and yet to feel the benefit of lower interest rates. The Westpac McDermott Miller consumer confidence index rose two points to 91.2, but remained firmly entrenched below 100, which is regarded as pessimism. Westpac senior economist Satish Ranchhod said it has been bumpy and uncertain, and the survey reflected nervousness about the economic outlook. "Domestically, economic conditions have remained mixed. At the same time, increased global tensions and the related volatility in financial markets are casting long shadows over the outlook." The survey showed more households reporting their own financial position had deteriorated, but there was a lift in those expecting a future improvement. All groups, except those on the highest incomes, were firmly pessimistic, although men were less downbeat than women, while there had been a notable fall in sentiment among young people. Ranchhod said households were still struggling with high living costs and were yet to get the benefit of interest rate falls. "While it will take time for those cuts to pass through to borrowers, many households will see a boost to their disposable incomes over the coming months. In some cases, the drop in their borrowing costs could be substantial, with some fixed mortgage rates down around 200 basis points compared to this time last year." He said about a third of respondents had cut back on discretionary spending, and were still not inclined to buy a big ticket item. The survey mirrored others showing the regions, especially those with strong agriculture production such as Bay of Plenty, Northland, Canterbury, and Southland, much more upbeat than the main centres. "The firmness in commodity price, especially in the dairy sector, has seen a welcome lift in earnings in many communities," Ranchhod said. "On top of that, growing numbers of international visitors will be helping to boost conditions in Queenstown and other tourism hotspots." The Bay of Plenty was the only region of the 11 to be above the 100 confidence level. However, Wellington's pessimism deepened to multi year lows. "While restraint in government spending will be one reason for that weakness, it's not the only reason ... households in Wellington have faced some tough financial conditions in recent years," Ranchhod said. He said Wellington was neither benefiting from high commodity prices nor the rise in international tourism.
