The economic divide between the North and South regions continues to widen, with Northland in first place and Southland in last.
High export prices for logging and a booming construction sector is bolstering Northland's economy, while Covid-19's impact on tourism continues to hamper the South Island. Photo: RNZ/Lois Williams
The ASB Regional Economic Scorecard for the first quarter of the year with the North Island taking the top nine spots and the South lsland taking the bottom seven.
"International tourism makes up a larger portion of spending in the South Island in areas like Queenstown, the West Coast and the Sounds, so they are likely impacted more and suffering disproportionately from the lengthy border closure," ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said.
Northland occupied the top spot for the third consecutive quarter with export prices for logs at record highs and a booming construction sector keeping demand high.
"Once again, solid job growth is underpinning Northland's strength, lifting nearly 5 percent year-on-year," Tuffley said, with an improving labour market and topping the topping the country for residential building consents granted.
Rural sectors were also outperforming major centres, with Waikato benefiting from its exposure to the dairy sector.
However, it was a different story in the south. Southland underperformed in employment, retail sales, construction and the housing market, while Otago continued to struggle in 14th place.
"Tourism hubs like Queenstown continue to face significant challenges, with employment numbers down 5.2 percent from the beginning of last year, when visitors were flowing freely," he said.
"In fact, this quarter, Otago was below the national average on every other metric we measure (including posting a 27 percent fall in construction)."