Labour's economic recovery in 6 graphs
Throughout the pandemic, we’ve all worked hard to protect lives and livelihoods – and thanks to these efforts, our economy is now recovering faster than almost anywhere else in the world.
Our strong economy allows us to continue supporting New Zealanders with cost pressures, which are being driven by worldwide inflation and the war in Ukraine.
The latest figures show that as we take the next steps in our economic plan, our recovery is gaining momentum.
Here are six graphs that show our plan is working
Our strong health response has prevented the devastation we’ve seen overseas, saving thousands of lives and protecting our economy from widespread disruption. Our world-leading response and our high vaccination rates now make us a really attractive travel destination for overseas visitors – helping to further boost our economic recovery as we begin to welcome back the world. Read more about our reconnecting plan.
We’ve worked hard to protect jobs and back Kiwi businesses through COVID-19, with support like our wage subsidies, the Resurgence Support Payment and interest-free loans all cushioning the impact of the global pandemic. We’ve also taken action to support more people into work, through programmes like free trades training and apprenticeships which has already supported more than 175,000 Kiwis, and Mana in Mahi which has supported a further 4,700 young people. Thanks to these efforts, unemployment is at the lowest level on record.
We’ve continued to position New Zealand globally as a place to trade with and invest in, and our exports are in high demand. Since 2017, we’ve secured an increase in total exports year on year – even in the face of a global pandemic. Now, the Prime Minister is leading trade delegations to further support our economic recovery and to let the world know that New Zealand is open for business. This builds on our historic free trade agreement with the United Kingdom, which sees a boost of almost $1 billion to our GDP and unprecedented access for Kiwi exporters, and we’re already working hard to conclude more.
GDP was up 3% in the last quarter – outperforming many of the countries we compare ourselves to, and economic activity is higher than it was before COVID-19. Our robust economy means we’re now in a good position to support New Zealanders with cost of living pressures, through initiatives like our 1 April income boosts, our fuel tax cuts and the upcoming Budget. Read more out how these changes are benefiting more than one million Kiwis.
We’re managing the economy responsibly, keeping debt low while making targeted investments to lift incomes, support vital services like health and education, and get critical infrastructure built. Our careful management of the Government books means our debt levels are much lower than those of many other countries – and our strong fiscal position is also helping to pay down debt faster.
Our economy has come through COVID better almost anywhere in the world, and now we’re in a strong position to build a high-wage, low-carbon economy that provides economic security for all New Zealanders. Households are better off under Labour, and we’ve worked hard to lift incomes and reduce cost pressures – including through increases to the minimum wage. We’re also continuing to tackle the long term challenges facing our economy, like climate change and infrastructure. We know there’s more to do, but we’re making good progress.
We know there is more to do, especially as global challenges like rising inflation, supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine all have an economic impact here in New Zealand. However, these graphs show that as we move forward with our recovery, we’re heading in the right direction – and our plan is working.
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