Weekly Digest – 08 May 2024
Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy.
Budget 2024: Business wants tax relief, less red tape and support for upskilling
Business wants to see this year’s Budget focus on tax relief, reducing red tape and support for upskilling, according to a new poll.
Unemployment pegged to rise to 5% by year’s end
Unemployment is set to rise to a three-year high and wage growth ease as the realities of a slowing economy with too many people chasing too few jobs take effect.
No quick fix to NZ and global productivity problem, Treasury warns
New Zealand is not alone in experiencing a drop in productivity and there may not be a fix on the horizon, the Treasury is warning. Productivity growth in the economy averaged 1.4% annually between 1993 and 2013 but averaged only 0.2% over the last 10 years, it reported.
Cost of living surged 6.2 per cent for average household in year, but inflation slowing down
The average New Zealand household’s cost of living went up 6.2 per cent in the year to March 31, Stats NZ said today.
Retailers, manufacturers and other businesses struggling amid economic downturn
Many retailers, manufacturers and employers are struggling to keep going amid a downturn in the economy and falling consumer and business confidence.
Report shows strong growth in farming salaries over past two years
While the agricultural sector has faced a raft of challenges in the past two years, a new report shows farm employers across the sheep and beef, dairy, and arable sectors have continued to invest strongly in one of their greatest assets – their staff.
Nicola Willis: Inflation still top priority as NZ grows poorer
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has warned that slaying inflation is still the number one priority for the Government in the fight to arrest New Zealand’s falling living standards.
More redundancies on way
Forsyth Barr managing director Neil Paviour-Smith suspects more businesses are likely to call for redundancies in the second half of the year. Mr Paviour-Smith was discussing the current economic situation and how optimism at the beginning of the year that business would pick up had been “dealt to” by recent news and expectations it would take longer.
Cost-of-living squeeze: More than 460,000 Kiwis behind on debt payments
The number of Kiwis behind on their debt repayments remains high as people wrestle with rising inflation and a cost-of-living squeeze. Credit company’s Centrix’s April Credit Indicator report showed consumer arrears climbed to 463,000 in March, up 6000 month-on-month.
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