New Zealand plunges into worst recession

New Zealand has entered a recession with the economy contracting 12.2% in the June quarter – the largest drop since such records began in 1987.

Paul Pascoe at Stats NZ said the GDP fall was “by far the largest on record in New Zealand” and reflected months spent in lockdown.
Industries such as retail, accommodation, restaurants and transport saw significant declines; as did construction and manufacturing at 25.8% and 13% respectively.

Household domestic spending dropped by 12%.

Annually, GDP fell by 2% – the first annual decline since the March 2010 quarter.

New Zealand’s economic retraction is higher than Australia’s 7% and Canada at 11.5%, but much less than in India, Singapore and the UK.

The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, placed New Zealand in a strict one-month lockdown on 26 March. No one was allowed to leave their home unless buying groceries, medicines, or taking an hour of exercise in their neighbourhood.

At the time Ardern said the lockdown was necessary to control the spread of the virus and her priority was saving lives at any cost.

Fewer than 2,000 people have become infected with the virus in New Zealand while 25 have died. The country’s efforts at containing the disease have been widely praised by epidemiologists around the world.