Editorial: Region in need of young folk

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The 2013 Census figures for Hawke's Bay make for fascinating reading, but also pose some challenges for us if we want our economy to grow.

The figures, released by Statistics NZ this week, show the number of Hawke's Bay people aged 65-69 have increased by 36.5 per cent since the 2006 Census.

In the 2013 Census the number of people of retirement age was up was 31 per cent - from 20,493 to 25,461. There are fewer children - down 3.2 per cent for ages 0-14 years-of-age. The key age groups of 15-29 and 30 to 34 also showed a decrease since 2006.

However, Hawke's Bay's total population, excluding Tararua District, was up 2.3 per cent - from 147,783 to 151,179.

The figures also show that we have become more ethnically diverse, with the Asian community increasing by 45.6 per cent. It is good we are becoming more diverse and immigrants are coming into this area, but our ageing population is a worry.

This is nothing against our older citizens, but an ageing population means higher hospital costs. Also, for an economy to be vibrant and growing, we need to be able to keep our young people and attract more to join our workforce. That means creating and sustaining jobs.

It is no coincidence that in any breakdown of economic indicators in the different regions, Hawke's Bay in recent times has been near the bottom.

This is something that concerns a large number of our business and civic leaders. The problem is many of them have vastly different solutions to the problem.

We need to all work together to find ways of creating jobs so the next Census will show a decrease in unemployment, a young vibrant workforce and an increase in median salaries.