How much of a powerhouse is Auckland?

Demolition work at Auckland CBD's former Downtown shopping centre: a sign of big changes in the city.

Gap between Auckland and NZ clearly illustrated

Auckland outstrips rest of NZ on:
• GDP growth
• Employment growth
• Net migration
• Tourism guest night growth
• House prices
• New building consents
• Retail sales growth
• Confidence indicators

Auckland is significantly out-performing the rest of New Zealand economically, according to the latest update from Auckland Council, and a huge gap between the biggest city and the rest of the country is clearly illustrated by the new data.

A series of eight graphs and charts, compiled and distributed by council analyst Ross Wilson and senior economist Harshal Chitale, showed how well Auckland is performing on every economic measure or indicator.

Real gross domestic product growth is running at 3.2 per cent for Auckland, compared to just 2.3 per cent for the rest of the country.

Auckland's annual employment growth is running at a high 8.7 per cent and its unemployment rate is just 5.3 per cent.

Auckland continues to be a magnet to migrants with a chart showing high numbers.

Auckland's share of tourism guest nights remains strong: based on a moving annual total, of the 30 million guest nights in the year to August, Auckland got 7.3 million, the data showed. Auckland's share of tourism guest nights has climbed sharply.

Auckland median house prices were pegged at $825,000 in September, well ahead of the rest of New Zealand based on Real Estate Institute figures.

Auckland new building consents are running at 9960 annually, much higher than they have been for some years.

Auckland retail sales growth also outstrips the rest of New Zealand, up 8.3 per cent, compared to only 2.4 per cent for the rest of New Zealand.

Read: full council economic update here: