Te Waka, with the support of Waikato Regional Council Economists Blair Keenan and Sarah MacKay, continues to collate data to gauge what is happening in the Waikato economy.
Charts in today’s Radar summarise statistics and data released over the last four weeks.
Due to COVID-19’s relatively stable nature in NZ and to account for various data sources’ schedules of releasing data, we will continue to publish Economic Radars on a monthly basis.
Reports are to be released on the first Friday of each month, our next report due 4 September.
While noting general stabilisation of trends, there remains uncertainty surrounding:
1. How New Zealand and the Waikato region will respond to the end of the wage subsidy scheme, set to close 1 September 2020.
2. International Markets – many countries’ health and economic challenges relating to COVID-19 are still developing / at a relatively early stage.
3. COVID-19 Free NZ – Over the past four weeks, NZ has had 36 new cases of COVID-19. All cases are currently contained under quarantine, but there is always a risk that community transmission may re-emerge.
4. Post Government Survival Investment Stability – Central Government has invested in a number of initiatives to support business survival. Uncertainty remains around the long-term impact/effectiveness of these initiatives.
We will continue to expand our monitoring and measures as we scan for signs of trouble, stabilisation, or sparks of life.
