8 Oct 2014

Auckland growth lags behind

2:22 pm on 8 October 2014

Auckland's economic growth lagged the rest of the country at just 2.4 percent in the year ended June.

Nation-wide, the economy grew 3.5 percent that year.

Auckland Council's June quarter economic report indicated the service sector was the key driver for economic growth over the period.

Compared with the June quarter last year, growth was 3.1 percent, also behind the national increase of 3.9 percent.

Auckland Council chief economist Rachel Logie said Auckland's growth was broad-based, although construction continued to play an important role in moving the economy forward.

"We have seen a slowdown in the pace of growth, but the June quarter was actually a very strong quarter for growth."

There was stronger contribution in the service sectors she said.

"Overall we've seen a seen that improvement in household spending because we've seen strong employment growth, and that's speeding through to incomes."

She said the city also had an improvement in net migration, boosting household spending.

She said business were looking to take on extra staff and invest in equipment and plants and that was driving additional growth.

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