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Auckland's Economy Grows 0.1% Despite 11,100 Job Losses This Quarter
With employment down 11,100 in the December quarter and house prices holding at $950,000, city leaders face choices on jobs, spending and trade.
How we reported this
Auckland's real GDP rose just 0.1 percent for the year ended December 2025, well below the 0.5 percent growth recorded across the rest of New Zealand.
The weak result arrives as households and businesses weigh options for the months ahead. Early signs of retail spending growth sit alongside falling employment numbers, leaving local decision makers to decide where to direct limited resources for the quickest lift in activity.
Job Losses and Retail Signals
Employment in Auckland dropped 1.1 percent, or 11,100 people, in the December 2025 quarter to a total of 984,000, according to figures in Source 7. The same period showed retail spending rising 4.9 percent annually, offering one narrow bright spot. Officials now must judge whether that spending rebound can offset the job decline or whether further support for hiring is required before the next quarter.
Provisional estimates for the year to March 2025 already recorded a 1.3 percent drop in real GDP to $158 billion, reversing the 2.1 percent gain seen the year before, per Sources 2 and 3. That earlier contraction sets a lower base for any turnaround and narrows the room for error in upcoming budget and infrastructure choices.
Housing Stability and Trade Flows
The median house price stood at $950,000 in January 2026, little changed from a year earlier after three years of mild declines, Source 5 records. Steady prices remove one source of pressure but also limit the wealth effect that sometimes fuels consumer spending. At the same time, imports through Auckland seaports reached $32.3 billion for the year ended January 2026, up 4.8 percent on the prior year and 21 percent above the 2020 Covid low, again from Source 5.
Those trade volumes suggest supply chains are active, yet the mismatch with local job numbers leaves open the question of how much of the import growth feeds Auckland employment. City and regional bodies will need to weigh whether targeted incentives for local manufacturers or logistics firms can convert the import rise into more Auckland-based work. Without such steps, the gap between trade activity and resident employment could widen further into the second half of 2026.