"Clearly we haven't completely turned the corner yet as the national and economic climates continue to be the factors inhibiting our own local economic performance, as is the case in most New Zealand cities.
"However, I'm confident that with the our investment in a raft of measures that Grow Rotorua Ltd is focusing on, and programmes under way by our Tourism Committee and Destination Rotorua Marketing combined with other council initiatives, we are setting a strong foundation for economic improvement. We're certainly optimising opportunities for Rotorua's future, albeit within a very challenging economic environment," said Mr Winters.
Grow Rotorua chief executive Francis Pauwels said it was great to see the Rotorua economy had grown by 5 per cent in the past year.
"As we have seen through revised treasury figures, the country as a whole has benefited primarily off the dairy industry's performance in recent times. However these results are to March 2012 and there's been a decline in dairy prices in more recent times. While Rotorua does have a strong diversified economy, two of our key sectors in particular - forestry and tourism - are susceptible to factors such as overseas commodity prices and exchange rates.
"Grow Rotorua has commenced a number of project investigations across the district's four key sectors within an overall strategic direction. These investigations include the major role that iwi can and will play, through investment in growth opportunities and better utilisation of their precious resources. Most people would agree that Rotorua is blessed with abundant resources and a number of comparative advantages.
Rotorua District Council chief executive Peter Guerin said the latest figures suggested Rotorua was surviving the economic storm much better than many parts of the country.
"Undoubtedly economic times will continue to challenge us for a while yet but there is light at the end of the tunnel. I'm confident Rotorua is increasingly well positioned to take advantage of the inevitable lift in the national economy and markets in the not too distant future."
The 2012 Rotorua District Annual Economic Profile is available on the www.rotoruanz.com website ('Invest' section) or the council site www.rdc.govt.nz.
GDP
Rotorua GDP was $2.002 billion, up 5 per cent on 2011. Nationally GDP increased by 2.3 per cent.
Since 2001 Rotorua growth has averaged 1.5 per cent per year, compared to 2.5 per cent nationally.
Rotorua accounted for 1.4 per cent of national GDP.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing made up 16.2 per cent of total Rotorua GDP. Manufacturing was second at 9.4 per cent.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing made up 16.2 per cent of total Rotorua GDP. Manufacturing was second at 9.4 per cent.
Employment
Rotorua averaged 32,126 jobs, up 0.2 per cent on 2011. Nationally employment increased by 1.2 per cent.
Health care and social assistance was the largest employer, making up 11.6 per cent of total Rotorua employment.
Self-employed workers made up 14.9 per cent of the Rotorua workforce, compared to 16.8 per cent nationally.
Rotorua unemployment rate was 8.5 per cent (up 0.2 per cent) compared to 6.6 per cent nationally.
Rotorua had 1354 unemployment beneficiaries, up 12.2 per cent on 2011. Nationally beneficiaries decreased by 10.8 per cent.
Businesses
Rotorua had 6927 business units, down 1.3 per cent from 2011. Nationally businesses decreased by 0.8 per cent.
Population (year to June 2012)
Rotorua population was 68,700, down 0.3 per cent from 2011. New Zealand's population grew by 0.6 per cent.
Rotorua was ranked 48th out of 66 New Zealand districts for population growth from 2011 to 2012. Taupo was 20th (0.6 per cent growth), Whakatane 47th (-0.3 per cent), Kawerau 54th (-0.6 percent) and Opotiki 66th (-2.7 per cent).
Rotorua population's median age was 35.8, compared to national median of 37.
Rotorua's 0-14 year olds made up 23.4 per cent of total population (nationally 20.1 per cent), 12.9 per cent were 65 and older (nationally 13.8 per cent). That means 63.7 per cent of Rotorua's population was working age (15-64), compared to 66.1 per cent nationally.
Earnings
Rotorua median annual earnings were $44,380. Nationally they were $49,900.
Rotorua median earnings increased by 2.9 per cent from 2011, compared to a 3.2 per cent national increase.
House Prices
Rotorua median house price was $240,000, compared to $357,000 nationally.
House prices in Rotorua increased by 0.1 per cent, compared with a 3 per cent increase nationally.
Rotorua housing affordability index (comparing house prices to earnings) was 5.6, compared to the national index of 7.1. That means housing is more affordable in Rotorua than the country as a whole.
2012 Rotorua Annual Economic Profile key findings (to March 2012 unless stated)