But the employment figures are worse, with warnings the labour market shows “no sign of picking up”. Brunsdon warned while signs of the long promised green shoots are starting to emerge, Wellington’s economy is not expected to bounce back quickly. “We would expect it’s going to take a few quarters for that to flow through,” he said of the employment and business figures. Last year’s four quarters measured together have the Wellington economy contracting by 0.4% last year, the new figures show. It comes off the back of Stats NZ data showing there are nearly 10,000 fewer jobs in Wellington than at the last general election.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 03, 2026 13:02 UTC