Other indicators were also positive. Passenger and commercial vehicle registrations were up 40 per cent on their five-year averages. Tourism was also beginning to take off, according to the report.
The September quarter was particularly strong, with 518,000 guest nights, up 17 per cent on the same quarter last year and 23 per cent on the five-year average.
The report said Northland is expected to continue to enjoy a period of solid growth.
Dairy's recovery will assist, plus there is renewed strength in forestry, with prices remaining solid. The outlook for meat and wool was more mixed, but not as weak as it had been in the past.
Northland's unemployment rate was expected to slowly lower on the back of the improved outlook. Tourism may also grow further although the region has been somewhat hampered by difficulty of access.
Northland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Tony Collins said business confidence was strong, the fiscal environment was stable and interest rates were good. The drop in unemployment was also positive with businesses becoming confident to invest in employing people, he said.
"We've started from a much higher baseline than the rest of the country and obviously, comparatively, we're still high but at least we're tracking in the right direction."
Mr Collins said population growth was also strong, partly as a result of challenges in Auckland. Northland now had good infrastructure, realistic land prices, and offered a good quality of life. He said there would always be concerns around forestry and farming in the region, though dairy was improving slowly.