Small business revenues remain flat although the number of jobs are increasing.
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A survey of small businesses by cloud accounting software firm, Xero, said the number of jobs in small businesses rose 1.4 percent in October over the year earlier to pre-Covid19 pandemic levels, apart from in the hospitality sector.
"Looking at the hospitality sector, we saw jobs fall early in the crisis and have remained pretty flat since then, despite revenues improving," Xero managing director for New Zealand & Pacific Islands Craig Hudson said.
Compared to pre-crisis levels, there was positive growth in job figures in Canterbury, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Bay of Plenty and Northland.
However, Auckland and Queenstown are yet to completely recover the jobs lost during the initial Covid-19 lockdown, with the hospitality sector down 9.7 percent.
Small business revenue remained relatively flat, falling 0.4 percent in October.
Most industries recorded positive year-on-year revenue growth, with professional services and hospitality the most negatively affected.
Queenstown remained hardest hit with small business revenues down 13.6 percent.