People wait for buses at a bus station in Auckland, New Zealand, June 15, 2023. (Photo by Zhao Gang/Xinhua)
WELLINGTON, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand economy has signaled a recession as the gross domestic product (GDP) fell for the second quarter, according to quarterly figures released by the statistics department Stats NZ on Thursday.
The GDP fell 0.1 percent in the March 2023 quarter, following a 0.7-percent fall in the December 2022 quarter, Stats NZ said.
The second consecutive quarter of negative economic growth signals the start of an economic recession.
"Today's outcome fits the definition of a technical recession by the barest of margins," Finance Minister Grant Robertson said, adding the economy was affected by the second-largest natural disaster to hit New Zealand in the first quarter.
This result reflects the impact of the Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, with estimates of hundreds of millions of dollars of lost production and activity across agriculture, forestry, fishing, transport and manufacturing due to the extensive flooding, Robertson said.
The minister looks to export growth, the tourism rebound, returning international students, migration inflows, and investment in the recovery to handle the challenging times.
The two consecutive quarter declines follow growth in the second and third quarters of 2022, Stats NZ's economic and environmental insights general manager Jason Attewell said.
Over half of the industries saw declining figures in the last quarter. Business services were the biggest downward driver, down 3.5 percent, which was partly offset by a 2.7-percent increase in information media and telecommunications in the first quarter, Attewell said.
"Management consulting, advertising, scientific and engineering design services drove the fall in business services," Attewell said, adding the March 2023 quarter included the initial impacts of Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle and teachers' strikes.
The adverse weather events caused by the cyclones contributed to falls in horticulture and transport support services, as well as disrupted education services, he said.
"Fewer teaching days led to falls in primary and secondary education services," Attewell said. ■
People walk past a restaurant in Auckland, New Zealand, June 15, 2023. (Photo by Zhao Gang/Xinhua)
People walk out of a store in Auckland, New Zealand, June 15, 2023. (Photo by Zhao Gang/Xinhua)
A man walks on a pedestrian overpass in Auckland, New Zealand, June 15, 2023. (Photo by Zhao Gang/Xinhua)
A woman walks on a street in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, June 15, 2023. (Photo by Zhao Gang/Xinhua)
This photo taken on June 15, 2023 shows a view of a container terminal in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Zhao Gang/Xinhua)