New Zealand’s economy is in recession, with its gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking by 1% in the September quarter.
The country also saw a drop of 1.1% in the June quarter, according to revised figures from Stats NZ’s report today.
“The data incorporated this year shows stronger growth over the last year, followed by two significant falls in the latest quarters,” said Stats NZ spokesperson Jason Attewell.
New Zealand’s Treasury projected an 0.1% GDP contraction in the September quarter in a fiscal update earlier this week.
Expenditure on GDP and real gross national disposable income dropped by 0.8%. GDP per capita declined by 1.2%.
GDP growth by goods-producing industries fell the most of any industry group, at 2.8%. The services industry group’s GDP growth also fell by 0.5%. Services industries represent 73.6% of the New Zealand economy, according to Stats NZ.
Manufacturing production declined by 2.6%, driven by metal, wood, food, and transport equipment manufacturing.
Construction production decreased by 1.5%, and business services by 2.8%.
Hiring and real estate services saw 1% growth this quarter, while agriculture, forestry, and fishing production increased by 1.4%.
Exports decreased by 2.1%, driven by food and beverage products.
“Our early assessment is that this is still likely to be the worst of it for GDP,” said Westpac NZ senior economist Michael Gordon. “The high-frequency data has been turning higher in recent months, and there are some aspects of the Q3 weakness, such as in electricity generation, that we know won’t be repeated.”