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Growing knowledge-intensive service industries is an opportunity to address New Zealand’s declining productivity.

Diversifying the primary sector’s core crops with high-value crops like saffron would add resilience to New Zealand’s economy.

Unemployment is forecast to increase. The Government, however, has a goal of shifting a significant number of people off the Jobseeker Support benefit.

Tax cuts provide short-term relief, but if we are to become more prosperous and improve living standards, long-term productivity improvements are essential.

We have been shielded from high youth unemployment, but are we aligning with countries where high youth unemployment rates have been persistent for decades?

The Reserve Bank accepts that many of its usual labour market indicators performed poorly during COVID-19. 

The new government has begun disestablishing Te Pūkenga, bringing a halt to all recruitment, as part of its 100-day plan. 

Nobel Laureate in the Economic Sciences awarded to Professor, Claudia Goldin, for having advanced our understanding of women’s labour market outcomes.

Even before the January flooding and February’s Cyclone Gabrielle, climate change had begun to influence the future of work landscape in New Zealand.

What are the implications of an increasingly ageing workforce, and how can we be prepared?

Has the labour market peaked? The trend of low unemployment and high wage growth continues, but that is expected to change sooner rather than later.

It looks like the worst of inflation may be behind us. The labour market is showing early signs of cooling down, oil prices have fallen, and OCR hikes seem to be working.

New occupations are emerging at a fast pace. The tools we use to capture this information should reflect the reality of our changing economy.

Kiwi firms report shrinking profit margins, more regular price changes, and a reduction in online sales.

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is #EmbraceEquity. 

The labour market is beginning to loosen up as demand for new workers starts to dry up. However, for now, wages continue to rise at record pace.  

Treasury forecasts suggest no easing of pressures currently ravaging the economy. Key economic indicators point towards a tough couple of years ahead. 

With seemingly no more room to grow, the labour market continues to surprise on the upside. 

Have you ever wondered what your life would have looked like in another era? For migrant women, 1950s New Zealand would have been an incredibly inhospitable place.

In 1994, BERL published forecasts for GDP and employment growth over the five years between 1994 to 1999. How well did we do? 

While unemployment is low, wages are falling far behind inflation. This tight labour market is also a challenge for employers, as the brain drain continues.

The social impacts of COVID-19 are evident in the latest wellbeing statistics.

We look at broad movements in the aggregated financial statistics of businesses and are surprised at what we find.

Unemployment has fallen to very low levels during the time of COVID-19. Which groups in the population have benefitted the most? And can low unemployment last?

How has COVID affected NZ’s labour force? Despite the turmoil the pandemic has caused, there has been remarkable stability. But there are challenges ahead.

We summarise what we liked and what could have been better in Budget 2022.

Māori authority businesses continue to display resilience in the face of economic turmoil.

With the borders opened for citizens and residents young professionals will look elsewhere for better employment opportunities, as wages are stagnant at home.

High productivity growth can lift living standards greatly, but New Zealand’s record has been poor for decades. Will this begin to improve anytime soon?

The labour market is under stress, growing demand for labour combined with closed borders puts pressure on wages, but inflation is putting pressure on workers.