Auckland city business and economy report 2007

Executive summary | Relative economic performance | Economic structure | Affordable housing | Population | Labour market | Retail trade and tourism | Building and property | Inflation, interest rates and the exchange rate | Potential economic impacts of climate change | Economic outlook

Relative economic performance

GDP is a measure of total output or income of a city, region or country. GDP per capita measures income per head and is often used as a proxy indicator of living standards.

The data in the table below indicates that, over the last decade, the Auckland region experienced total GDP growth around the middle of the range. However, this growth was achieved through the increase in population rather than through increasing levels of labour productivity.

This poor labour productivity performance is reflected in the low GDP per capita, when compared to other countries and a consequentially low per capita income. It was the lowest of any comparator cities and 36 per cent lower than its Australian comparators.

Table 2: Relative performance¹

Table 2 refers to the Auckland region. Auckland city's GDP per capita is significantly higher than the region as a whole ($US 37,329 versus $US 24,520). This reflects the fact that the Auckland region's economic activity is concentrated in Auckland city but the region's population is more dispersed.

Published June 2007