The differences between Napier and Hastings were primarily attributed to more people moving to Napier, construction, vehicle registrations and tourism.
"Our June 2016 Quarterly Economic Monitor showed exceptional growth in spending, traffic flows, guest nights, and headline GDP in most of the key tourism destinations in New Zealand," economist Benje Patterson said.
Statistics New Zealand figures released on Thursday showed a record number of September guest nights ever recorded in Hawke's Bay as this summer looks to surpass figures recorded before the Global Financial Crisis.
The Monitor said international visitors were staying longer, boosting the shoulder of the tourism season.
Visitor growth was particularly apparent in smaller places outside the main urban centres where tourism represents a much larger share of the area's economy than in bigger and more diversified cities.
"On top of this tourism activity, Hawke's Bay has had really good returns for its primary sector," Mr Patterson said.
Fruit, wine and forestry prices were fetching good prices and the New Zealand dollar's drop from historic highs was "more money in the back pocket" for the export-focused region.
Renewed interest in the Hawke's Bay housing market was also a factor.
"Locals have money in their back pocket, the labour market is going better and interest rates are quite low so people are spending on housing."
The poor dairy payout and a reduction to mining activity "took the shine out of things for some parts of the country" but Hawke's Bay has more strings to its bow.
"Places with more diversified primary sectors got off lighter as they enjoyed an offsetting rise in returns for meat, fruit, vegetables, seafood, and other primary sector goods."
Business Hawke's Bay CEO Susan White said the report confirmed Hawke's Bay was in growth mode.
"With summer coming up with visitor growth and record harvests anticipated, the forecast is looking bright," the regional economic development agency chief executive said.
Napier mayor Bill Dalton said the Hawke's Bay economy was "small enough to react to stimulus" and an increasingly popular destination for both tourists and immigrants.
"We usually have 30 to 40 people at a citizenship ceremony but on Monday we had 76," he said.
"The Department of Internal Affairs is talking about us having more frequent citizenship ceremonies so the numbers don't build up.
"There are so many positive things happening."
He said "knockers" were themselves a barrier to growth.
"When we have done projects we have taken a whole lot of flack over, like the MTG project.
"There had been more lies told about the MTG project than any other project but it kick-started the construction side of the Hawke's Bay economy."
Napier had "an unbelievable amount of construction in the pipeline".
He said with factors such as pipfruit's record returns and increased plantings, a "booming" tourism sector "then the future for Hawke's Bay is absolutely brilliant".
Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule said a lot of growth was due to high levels of confidence in the region, a confidence boosted by strong horticultural returns and increasing property values.
"When people are confident they do things like spending money, making investment decisions, hiring staff - all very good things," he said.
"When people are not confident they just batten down the hatches."
He expected growth to continue in the medium term with the only perceived threat a change in the world economy or in markets for Hawke's Bay exports.
Pipfruit has historically had troughs promptly follow peaks "but those in the industry tell me that while it is cyclical the fundamentals are more robust this time than they have been for a long time".
One fundamental lacking for pipfruit is labour. Gone are the days when pickers stripped a tree - nowadays it is picked up to four times for optimal ripeness which requires more pickers than the region has.
Growers say they would not cope without seasonal RSE workers from overseas but Mr Joyce said local workers had priority for jobs. With many of them long-term unemployed "we are getting to the hard end of the market".
Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley published his book Rebooting the Regions this year.
The Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Massey University said there was a clear link between inter-generational unemployment in Hawke's Bay and the closure of the Whakatu and Tomoana meat works in the 1980s, when thousands of workers were laid off.
"The long-term unemployed group in Hawke's Bay is a significant on-going issue," he said.
"The challenge is always going to be how to get them re-engaged. The attitude might be wrong, the skillset might be wrong and work experience not there."
When Mr Joyce visited last week he said New Zealand also had a good platform for growth.
He said with 3.5 per cent growth to June New Zealand was well placed economically, especially with its strong Asian trade links.
"Irrespective of whether China is growing at 6 per cent or 7 per cent, it is growing and so is its consumer market."
Growth was throughout emerging Southeast Asia nations where New Zealand had good market access.
"Most countries would give their eye teeth to be in New Zealand's position at the moment. So the real question is what you do in that position."
While New Zealand and Hawke's Bay had a good platform for growth "where the rubber hits the road is jobs".
He said he visited two businesses where the main barrier was finding staff.
"I want to see we can crack a nut here in terms of some of the longer-term unemployed and how we deal with them." Mr Joyce told a Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce meeting.
There were challenges in New Zealand "particularly here in Hawke's Bay where we have an unemployment rate of 6 per cent".
"One of the challenges is how do we shift some of those people into the workforce. It is not easy because of you talk to some of the employers they say they get people referred by WINZ and 80 per cent to 90 per cent of them disappear within a week.
"That is quite difficult, so the old ways of doing things is not working for those people."
Hawke's Bay had an opportunity "to really dig in and have a go".
"The only way we are going to do that is partnership that is why we set up Project 1000."
It seeks to fill 2000 pipfruit jobs through a partnership between Ngati Kahungunu and local employers such as Mr Apple, Crasborns Group, Bostock New Zealand, T&G and Johnny Appleseed.
The project was about opportunity and support "until there is a culture of work that was perhaps potentially different to what even their family has seen".
