Covid 19 coronavirus: Auckland Council predicts 250 jobs lost per day under alert level 3

By Jordan Bond of RNZ

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has been warned businesses teetering on the edge of collapse during the first lockdown may go to the wall this time around.

The council's chief economist is expecting about 250 jobs are being lost a day under level 3 restrictions, with about a quarter of the city's workforce unable to work at all.

About 250,000 of Auckland's 900,000 working people can't work at all under the current restrictions. Almost 300,000 are working from home.

Council figures show the first lockdown cost 24,000 Aucklanders their jobs, despite the $585-a-week wage subsidy.

Goff said winning a wage subsidy extension was his number one priority for keeping Aucklanders employed. He said it was also top of the wish list for the business community.

"That's what will enable a whole lot of businesses to continue through a challenging and difficult period," Goff said.

But relief for another large fixed cost - rent - is not a priority being pushed in the Beehive by the mayor.

Auckland Council chief economist David Norman said, even if businesses could weather this storm, all forecasts and future plans came with a big caveat.

"If things go well and it looks like we can get things under control in a couple of weeks, then that might be all we need at that level.

"But things could equally go the other way, and that means that businesses don't have certainty, which makes it harder to plan ahead."

One thing that is able to continue at this stage is construction.