New data out on Auckland: Economy, employment, migration strong

New data is out on Auckland's strong economy.

New data shows how Auckland'seconomic growth, retail spending and migrant arrival numbers are outstripping the rest of New Zealand.

Employment is rising and migration is continuing to run so strong that Auckland got slightly more people than the entire rest of New Zealand in the past year.

The Auckland Economic Update for October, issued by Auckland Council research and evaluation unit analyst Ross Wilson, gave new information on how fast the city's economy is growing.

"In Auckland, real GDP for the year ended June 2017 was 3.4 per cent higher than for the year ended June 2016. In the rest of New Zealand, the annual growth was 2.5 per cent," Wilson's report said.

Aucklanders are spending up large. Real retail sales for the year ended June 2017 are up 4.8 per cent higher than for the year ended June 2016. The rest of New Zealand's annual growth was 3.8 per cent, data showed.

The city continues to be a migrant magnet, attracting 36,796 for the year ended August 2017, compared to 35,276 for the rest of the country, according to the report.

"In Auckland, real GDP for the year ended June 2017 was 3.4 per cent higher than for the year ended June 2016; in the rest of New Zealand, the annual growth was 2.5 per cent," Wilson's data showed.

Job growth is running strong throughout the city.

"In Auckland, the number of people employed in the quarter (not year) ended June 2017 was 4.2 per cent higher than in the June 2016 quarter. The unemployment rate in Auckland in the quarter ended June 2017 was 4.5 per cent," the data showed.

The total number of houses sold in the year to August was 23,161 and the city had a median city sale price of $840,000.

"The total number of new dwellings consented in the year ended August 2017 was 10,265. The real value of new non-residential buildings consented in Auckland in the year ended August 2017 was $1.831 million," Wilson's report said.

However he cautioned that approved projects have not necessarily started to be built.

Tourists spent 7.4 million guest nights in Auckland compared to 31.5 million for the rest of New Zealand.