this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2024
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Record number of people leave New Zealand amid cost of living pressure (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 5 months ago by hanrahan@slrpnk.net to c/newzealand
9 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Olsen said while it is normal for New Zealanders to leave the country, it will be harder to convince people to return, if there are ongoing issues around housing affordability and job prospects.

That ‘brain drain’ could pose problems for society as the population ages, Olsen said.

“We need to have as many young people as we can who are still part of the economy … who are being innovative and bringing their new thinking to the game so we can be more productive,” he said.

“If we are losing our young talent and we’re not able to attract them back it makes all of [that] so much harder.”

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[–] liv 15 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

Sounds quite serious:

Of those leaving the country on a long-term basis, an estimated 81,200 were New Zealand citizens – a 41% increase on the previous year. The figure is a rise from the previous record of 72,400 departures in 2012.

With 24,800 New Zealand citizens arriving during the period, that put the net migration loss of citizens at 56,500 – exceeding the previous record of 44,400 in 2012.

They really do mean "record". I think if we adjust it for population growth since 2012, it's not as stark but it's still bad.

[–] Dave 9 points 5 months ago (2 children)

It's worth noting that there are loads of people who came home during the pandemic, and loads of people that would have emigrated but were waiting for the storm to blow over. I'm not really surprised that there was a record high in the last year.

I feel like we've had a similar article previously, and had discussion that ended basically with showing that we are still catching up on that lull.

[–] liv 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

That's a good point.

I have wondered if the private sector can absorb the public service cuts, but that's not thousands and thousands.

[–] Dave 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I think the private sector will be avoiding too much hiring at the moment, on account of the recession and general economic uncertainty.

Plus it doesn't help that those government job losses are not evenly spaced across the country, but have a high proportion in one city (Wellington). That's an assumption, but I think it's a fair one considering the government said front line aren't being touched (I'm not sure that's entirely true), and since the bulk of non-frontline government staff are in Wellington.

So I'd guess now is a bad time to be a Wellington business selling non-essentials, I bet the CBD will be hoping for a few more cruise ships to prop up numbers.

[–] liv 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Yes that does sound disproportionate.

[–] Venator 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I wonder if more people would've changed thier mind and stuck around if NZ somehow managed to meet the same standards of public services those people might have come to expect from living overseas...

[–] Xcf456 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Adjusting for population it seems to be about the same - population has gone from about 4.3 million in 2013 to 5 point whatever million is it now.

I think it's cold comfort though that every time we get a downturn like this, we do austerity that makes things even worse and let key sectors like construction just collapse and workers relocate to places where they actually try and do counter cyclical support.

[–] liv 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Yes austerity is sort of entrenching our downturns for longer. I guess it's not so much that we're losing people, as who we are losing.

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 0 points 5 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Stats NZ’s provisional international migration data shows there were an estimated 130,600 migrant departures in the year to April – the highest on record for an annual period.

In recent years, New Zealanders – particularly young professionals and graduates -reported leaving the country due to high living costs and ongoing job shortages.

It is also considered a rite of passage for many young New Zealanders to head overseas once they finish school or higher education.

“Historically, changes in migration are typically due to a combination of factors – those include the relative economic and labour market conditions between New Zealand and the rest of the world,” said Tehseen Islam, Stats NZ’s population indicators manager.

Australian employers have frequently attempted to recruit New Zealand workers with offers of higher pay and better working conditions.

Olsen said while it is normal for New Zealanders to leave the country, it will be harder to convince people to return, if there are ongoing issues around housing affordability and job prospects.

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