Economy grows 0.2% in June quarter as construction offsets services weakness
New Zealand's gross domestic product rose 0.2 percent in the three months ended June, Stats NZ data reported on 16 September showed. GDP was 2.6 percent higher than a year ago. On an annual average basis, the economy grew 1.7 percent over the year to June, according to RNZ.
Growth in the previous quarter was revised up to 0.9 percent. Per capita GDP rose 0.1 percent in the June quarter. Disposable income fell 0.4 percent in the quarter and was 2.5 percent ahead of a year ago.
Nine of 16 industries recorded increases in the quarter, Stats NZ spokesperson Jason Attewell said. Construction activity rose 2.7 percent, driven by house building. Goods-producing sectors rose 1.3 percent overall. Services grew 0.2 percent.
The detail was uneven. Accommodation and food services fell 3.8 percent in the quarter. Road transport and support services fell 1.7 percent.
Stats NZ describes gross domestic product as New Zealand's official measure of economic growth and as providing a snapshot of the performance of the economy, according to Stats NZ. It lists the Gross domestic product: June 2026 quarter information release as dated 17 September 2026. Its National accounts (income, saving, assets, and liabilities): June 2026 quarter release is scheduled for 8 October 2026.
The June result follows a run of soft quarterly outturns that have shaped debate in the Beehive. Official data reported in March showed GDP rose 0.2 percent in the December 2025 quarter on the prior quarter, a result described at the time as weaker than analysts expected, according to Reuters. Finance Minister Willis had said she expected the country to return to growth in the third quarter of 2025, with further acceleration in 2026.
The broader context here for political readers is the narrowness of the expansion. Growth was marginal. Per capita growth was barely positive. Construction lifted the goods-producing total while parts of services went backwards. That composition matters for ministerial lines about recovery, for Opposition questions about living standards, and for how the next National accounts release on income and saving is read. Disposable income falling in the quarter while remaining up on the year gives both sides a number to use. The revision to the March quarter also matters. It changes the starting point for the June quarter without changing the political problem of low momentum.
