Sluggish Immigration Growth

According to an article written in Bloomberg Businessweek, New Zealand’s immigration growth has slowed for a second straight month. The author states that this is an indicator that New Zealand is not recovering from the economic recession as quickly as first expected. The number of permanent migrant arrivals was 20,973 which is a difference of 645 people from February numbers. Less immigrants combined with tight credit is leading to a lack of domestic demand. Furthermore, unemployment has increased to a 10-year high of 7.3%.

New Zealand’s dollar is also down, with it being equivalent to approximately $.70 U.S. However, short-term arrivals are up 1.1%. Unadjusted arrivals also increased by 7.4% which, according to the article, may have something to do with school vacations and the Easter break in the academic calendar. Furthermore, due to the fact that tourism accounts for 10% of New Zealand’s economy, a heavy emphasis has been put on New Zealand as a tourist destination. The emphasis put on tourism has helped somewhat in keeping people, and thus money, flowing into the country’s economy.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-22/new-zealand-annual-immigration-fell-a-second-month-in-march.html