Auckland, New Zealand.
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People are leaving New Zealand in record numbers as unemployment rises, interest rates remain high and economic growth is anemic, government statistics show.
Data released by Statistics New Zealand on Tuesday showed that 131,200 people left New Zealand in the year ending June 2024, the highest on record for the annual period. About a third of them went to Australia.
While net migration, the number of arrivals minus departures, remains at a high level, economists also expect this to decrease as the number of foreign nationals looking to move to New Zealand falls due to a softer economy.
The data showed that 80,174 of those leaving were citizens, which is almost double the number seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Merrily Allen is now planning to move with her partner and 14-year-old daughter in early 2025 to Hobart in the island state of Tasmania, Australia.
“There’s a lot of opportunity out there. They’re always looking for people in my profession,” said Allen, who works in dental administration.
“I have a lot of friends who have gone (to Australia) … purely because of better job opportunities, better life. Australia is just like that.”
During the pandemic, encouraged by the government’s handling of the outbreak, New Zealanders living overseas returned home in historically high numbers.
But the love affair with the country of 5.3 million, has ended for some. Economists say New Zealanders frustrated by the cost of living, high interest rates and fewer job opportunities are looking to Australia, Britain and elsewhere.
The economy of New Zealand is struggling after the central bank raised the cash rate 521 basis points in the most aggressive tightening since the official cash rate was introduced in 1999. The economy annual growth 0.2% in the first quarter, unemployment rose to 4.7% in the second. quarter and inflation remained high at 3.3%.
Furthermore, Australia has been recruiting and offering relocation packages in areas such as nursing, policing and teaching where they have skills shortages that are attracting New Zealanders, who do not need visas to work there. At the same time, the New Zealand government has downsized the country’s public service which has left many skilled workers looking for work.