Expenditure GDP -
As at Sep ‘97 except US and UK which are Dec ‘97

GROWTH
Gross Domestic Product rose by 0.5 percent in the December 1997 quarter, marginally down on the 0.6 percent increase in September.

The increase in economic activity in these two quarters contributed to growth of 2.3 percent in the year to December. Apart from an aberration in the March quarter last year, the economy has now had 20 consecutive quarters of economic growth.

The largest contributions to December quarter growth were made by the agriculture, fishing, forestry and mining sector, and transport and communications.

Internal demand rose by 1.6% in the quarter. A build-up in stocks was the largest contributor, while household spending also picked up.

EMPLOYMENT
Seasonally adjusted employment increased by 6,000 in the December 1997 quarter to 1,698,000. This growth in jobs meant unemployment decreased marginally to 6.7 percent from 6.8 percent in the September quarter. Seasonally adjusted unemployment has been relatively steady over the last three quarters.

Employment levels rose for all ethnic groups during the December quarter, but there is still a large disparity in ethnic unemployment. For NZ European the unemployment rate is 4.6 percent; for Maori 16.8 percent; Pacific Island 13.7 percent; and for the “Other” group 14.5 percent.

CURRENT ACCOUNT
The current account deficit was 7.7 percent of GDP for the year ended December 1997. This compares with 7.0 percent for the year ended September 1997 and 3.9 percent for the year ended December 1996.

The December quarter deficit of $2.03 billion was a $271 million improvement on the September quarter, but much of this was due to seasonal factors.

The surplus on merchandise trade in the quarter increased slightly to $83 million, reflecting the usual seasonal pattern.

10 year bond rates are for December 1997

Based on CPI Indexes as at 31 December 1997

Source: OECD Main Indicators January 1998