Source: BusinessNZ
BusinessNZ Chief Economist John Pask says the divide is reflected in a range of economic indicators including export sales, employment growth, unemployment rates, house price movements, construction activity and broader business and consumer activity.
Overall, however, international factors continue to influence all aspects of the economy.
“At the international level, the economic outlook remains challenging, although financial markets are becoming so used to pricing in upheavals and geopolitical risk that they are taking those challenges in their stride,” Mr Pask said.
“But for NZ, the challenges remain, and are resulting in low levels of demand and unwillingness to invest.
There are no quick fixes for any of these symptoms, however a good starting point would be to get more certainty in the business environment, and for NZ’s main political parties to reach a greater level of agreement on the issues affecting investment – particularly in much-needed infrastructure – rather than promising to cancel previous decisions whether they are sound or not.”
The BusinessNZ Economic Conditions Index, a measure of NZ’s major economic indicators) sits at 3 for the September 2025 quarter, an improvement of 2 on the previous quarter, and the same as a year ago. (An ECI reading above 0 indicates economic conditions are generally improving; below 0 that economic conditions are generally declining.)
The BusinessNZ Network including BusinessNZ, EMA, Business Central, Business Canterbury and Business South, represents and provides services to thousands of businesses, small and large, throughout New Zealand.
