Migration gain the most in five years

The number of people moving to New Zealand to stay reached a five-year high in September, new figures from Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) show.

For the year, the 87,200 people arriving on a permanent and long term (PLT) basis was up 600 or 1 per cent from a year earlier. At the same time, the 70,200 PLT departures was down 12,100 or 15 per cent.

As a result net PLT migration was 17,000 in the September year, up from 4400 a year earlier, and the highest annual net migration total since the September 2004 year, SNZ said.

For just the month of September the number of people arriving on a PLT basis exceeded departures by 1800 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

That was up from 1600 in August and similar to levels seen since February, SNZ said.

In actual terms, PLT arrivals exceeded departures by 3100 in September, compared with 1700 a year earlier.

ASB economist Jane Turner warned that the rise in net migration may only be temporary.

As conditions improved across the Tasman it may only be a matter of time before a recovering labour market in Australia provided a lift to permanent departures, she said.

For now, the rise in net migration continued to support growth in household formation and underpin housing demand.

The current pick up in housing market activity and house prices should encourage a lift in residential building activity and help construction activity lift off its current lows, Ms Turner said.

In September, PLT departures fell by 1700 or 29 per cent compared to a year earlier, including 1500 fewer departures to Australia and 200 fewer to Britain.

PLT arrivals were down 300 in September, resulting from 400 fewer arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens, partly offset by 100 more arrivals of New Zealand citizens. Arrivals of non-New Zealand citizens had been declining since April 2009.

During the year 9200 PLT arrivals came from Britain, with 5900 from India, 3600 from China, 2700 from the Philippines, 2600 from Fiji, 1700 from South Africa, and 1500 from Germany.

The net PLT outflow to Australia fell to 23,100 in the September year, down from 33,900 a year earlier.

The annual net outflow to Australia had been falling since record highs of 35,400 in the December and January years, SNZ said.

A net inflow of 38,200 non-New Zealand citizens and a net outflow of 21,200 New Zealand citizens were recorded in the year to September.

- NZPA