The number of jobs in Dunedin fell by 1.5% in the year ending March 2021, the city’s latest economic update has found.
Dunedin city councillors discussed the 2021 infometrics annual economic profile at the economic development committee meeting yesterday.
The profile found total employment in Dunedin city averaged 65,017 in the year to March 2021, down 1.5% from a year earlier.
The accommodation and food sector had the largest decline in jobs, losing 376.
Construction had the largest employment growth, adding 290 jobs over the year.
The mean earning in Dunedin increased by 3.2% to $59,804, which was lower than New Zealand’s mean of $65,910.
Business analysis contractor Benje Patterson told councillors the economic result was better than he expected compared with predictions at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
That was largely due to support, such as the wage subsidy, which businesses and employers received, and that most parts of the economy were able to operate "quite freely".
The economic profile found GDP in Dunedin was down 1% in the 12 months to March 2021.
The healthcare and social assistance sector made the largest contribution to overall growth in the city between 2020 and 2021, growing by 2.5%.
The largest detractor from growth over the year was the transport, postal and warehousing sector which fell 16.8%.
GDP per employee in Dunedin measured $105,018 in the year to March 2021, which was 15.9% lower than the rest of the country.
Productivity in the city increased 0.5% compared with the previous year. That compares with a decrease of 1.4% in New Zealand.
Since March 31, 2021, Stats New Zealand noted that, based on payday payroll filings, job numbers in Dunedin during November 2021 were up 3% from November 2020.
Ministry of Social Development data indicated just over 4100 people in Dunedin were receiving Jobseeker Support in November 2021.
That compared with 4500 in November 2020.
