Context to support the development of Auckland Council’s Economic Development Action Plan

Extract:

Summary

• COVID-19 interrupted a period of strong economic growth for Auckland, but impacts have been smaller than first anticipated.
• Roadblocks to economic recovery remain. The Auckland Council Group (“the Group”) has control or influence over some of these.
• But financial constraints limit new funding available to spend on recovery.
• Instead, we need to support recovery by aligning business as usual activities that together improve specific outcomes.
• This report highlights levers the Group has to aid economic recovery and asks how existing activities can better support recovery.

A decade of growth

Auckland is the powerhouse of the New Zealand economy, with close to 40% of national GDP, and over 900,000 workers. Over the decade to early 2020, economic growth has been driven by strong population growth, with the construction and business services sectors leading.

Larger businesses accounted for the bulk in employment growth, as unemployment fell to its lowest level in a decade

Disparities across sub-populations remained, however, in terms of unemployment rates and a widening wealth gap as house prices surged, particularly between 2011 and 2016. ...

Auckland Council May 2021