Confidence slumps in Southland

Unemployment in Southland rose during 2017. Photo: Getty Images
Unemployment in Southland rose during 2017. Photo: Getty Images

Employment confidence in Southland slumped in the three months ended December and households in the region are now the most pessimistic in the country.
The Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence index, released this morning, gave Southland a confidence rating of 106.9, down 8.4 points on September.

Unemployment in Southland rose during 2017 and most parts of the agricultural sector were facing challenging conditions.

Westpac senior economist Satish Ranchhod said those developments meant households in the region had become increasingly nervous about their employment prospects.

Otago confidence rose 3.1 points in the December quarter to 112.

The national index rose slightly to 113.9 in December, taking confidence in the labour market conditions to its higher level since 2008 - before the New Zealand economy felt the full brunt of the global financial crisis.

"New Zealand households are feeling optimistic about their job prospects going into a new year,'' Mr Ranchhod said.

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