The number of people arriving to live in New Zealand came down slightly in September compared to August, new figures show.
The latest Statistics New Zealand figures show that 71,000 people came to live in New Zealand in the year to September. This was down from 72,000 in the year to August.
What’s more, the number of people who moved to New Zealand last month was about 5,100 – the lowest monthly total in more than two years.
While net migration is expected to come down significantly over the coming months, following a change in Government at last month’s General Election, some experts believe there will be a natural slowdown over the coming year anyway.
“We had a load of people come into this country on temporary visas, they’re now leaving in big numbers,” a Westpac economist told Radio NZ’s Morning Report. “We think that net immigration will drop to 20,000 by 2020 without any change in government policy.”
However, while the number of people arriving to live in the country may be slowing, tourism numbers remain at record levels, with 3.7 million people visiting in the year to September.
Article published 24th October 2017