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North Shore the most resilient

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North Shore City was more resilient and outperformed both the Auckland region and New Zealand during the recession, according to an economic report released this week.

The 2010 North Shore Economic Futures Report, launched at the annual Enterprise North Shore Economic Summit last night, states that the city’s total employment levels remained better off than the country as a whole, with last year’s levels higher than they were in 2006 despite the recession.

This trend looks set to continue with the report forecasting that an additional 30,000 jobs will be created by 2031, raising the total Shore employment to around 114,000.

Speaking at the Summit, Westpac chief economist Brendan O’Donovan said that the turnaround happened much more quickly in the North Shore region than in the rest of the country. He believes that the North Shore’s economy was much more stable during the recession, partly because it was less exposed to New Zealand’s manufacturing sector which was hit hard by the downturn.

Enterprise North Shore’s chief executive Terry Hoskins adds, “The North Shore’s high technology, financial/professional services, education, sport and performance, and creative sectors are big growth areas of the future. Our research shows that these areas will play a central role in driving economic growth and development on the North Shore.

“The long term outlook is extremely positive making the Shore a great place to locate and grow businesses.

“We are delighted with the number of businesses who attended the Summit – the largest in its three year history. After such a challenging year, it is inspiring to see so many local businesses actively looking to embrace growth in their business – which was the overall theme of our Summit.”

As well as hearing the highlights from the Economic Futures Report, and commentary from Brendan O’Donovan, Summit attendees were advised about how to remove constraints holding back their business by local business experts from Advantage Business, RSM Prince and Waterstone.

Copies of the 2010 North Shore Economic Futures Report can be viewed at www.ens.org.nz/efr or a hard copy can be ordered by emailing team@ens.org.nz

ENDS

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