New Zealand recorded its biggest loss of migrants in a 12-month period since August 2001, as kiwis continued to jump the ditch seeking a better standard of life and higher-paying jobs in Australia.
Some 4,700 more New Zealanders left for Australia than arrived in January, taking the annual loss to a record 38,100 in the 12 month-period, according to Statistics New Zealand. That drove a monthly net outflow of migrants to 500, and pushed the net outflow of migrants to 3,134 in the year ended Jan. 31, the highest net loss since August 2001.
"Net losses have been recorded in 10 of the 11 months since the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch," Statistics NZ said in a statement.
The biggest loss of migrants was in Canterbury with an annual outflow of 3,700, while Auckland was the only region to attract a net inflow of people at 5,600 in the 12 months ended Jan. 31.
Short-term visitors rose 0.5 per cent to 266,800 people in January from the same months a year earlier, led by a 61 per cent surge in Chinese tourists. On an annual basis, short-term visitor numbers rose 2.7 per cent to 2.6 million, led by more Chinese, Australian and French visitors.
