Marlborough’s Strong Economic Results

Marlborough’s strong economic results

The latest Infometrics data on Marlborough indicates the district’s economy is humming, running ahead of the national picture.

The Infometrics report for the year to June 2017 shows an economy growing faster than it has at any time in the last decade, almost a full percentage point faster than the rate of national GDP growth.

Marlborough Mayor John Leggett says it’s an indicator of an expanding local economy which has had to absorb both positive and negative economic effects from the Kaikoura earthquake.

House prices have gone up by almost 10% with a small boom in new housing; residential consents rose by 38% over the 12 months. The unemployment rate has dropped below 3% and the construction and retail sectors have had a good year.

The Mayor said tourism spending is up by half a per cent and Marlborough’s valuable international visitor market continued to build despite the scale of the natural disaster.

“Tourism was always going to be the sector most vulnerable to a downturn once the earthquake all but closed our door to Canterbury so it’s remarkable to see that, as a district, we have held our own. That will be partly due to the overall nationwide lift in tourism but also because so much effort has gone into making sure that the industry knew that Marlborough remained open for business despite the shakes.”

The Infometrics report is prepared for Council's Smart Business Marlborough service and is available here: https://ecoprofile.infometrics.co.nz/Marlborough+Region/QuarterlyEconomicMonitor

ENDS

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