Posted by Blogger Name. Category:
Bill English
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Construction industry
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GDP growth
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The economy
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Wanganui
After all the political drama this week, it's nice to know that the economy is ticking along at a good, strong pace; the Herald reports:
Propelled by the construction sector, the economy kept expanding at a brisk clip in the March quarter.
Output grew 1 per cent to be 3.8 per cent up on March last year, up from a 3.3 per cent annual pace in December.
It is the third quarter in a row that gross domestic product has grown 1 per cent or better.
Although it is slightly softer than the 1.1 per cent the Reserve Bank (and the market consensus) had forecast, revisions to previous quarters meant annual growth was stronger than expected, leaving less spare capacity in the economy.
Growth was heavily concentrated in the construction sector, whose 12.5 per cent increase (the strongest for 14 years) accounted for two-thirds of the rise in quarterly GDP.
Quarterly growth of 1% and an annual GDP growth rate of 3.8% for the year to March is a very good result. The fact that the construction industry is leading the way is not surprising, but it is pleasing to know that growth in construction is taking place right across the country, not just in Christchurch.
Wanganui is often regarded as a real estate backwater. But as we have mentioned in the past, friends own a business supplying the building trade. They are as busy at the moment as they have ever been. Residential constriction is vibrant, and there are at least three major commercial projects underway in Victoria Avenue alone.
That is a sign of confidence in the economy going forward. Businesses like Farmers, Briscoes and Rebel Sport would not be committing to long-term leases in new premises such as those being built in the city if they were not optimistic about the country's economic outlook.
And the Government has been quick to compare our economy to those of a range of other developed countries or groups of countries:
The New Zealand economy is doing very well as the country recovers from a recession brought on by the Global Financial Crisis. Bill English's conservative economic policy mix has been shown to have been the right recipe for the times, and the economy is now reaping the benefits of his pragmatism.
It is certainly a good platform for any government to go to an election on.
