New figures, released today by Statistics New Zealand, reveal that the number of immigrants arriving to live in the country is once again rising.
Source: www.internations.org
Over the past few years the number of immigrants moving to New Zealand each year has plummeted as work opportunities in the land of the long white cloud became increasingly hard to come by.
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But amid a strengthening economy and workforce shortages in some areas – most notably Christchurch and Auckland – immigrant arrival numbers are picking up again. The statistics show that 2,300 immigrants arrived in New Zealand in June alone – a four-year high for the month. On an annual basis, net migration rose to 7,900.
What’s more, economists are confident that the country’s improving economic conditions will continue to attract more overseas immigrants and predict that by the end of 2013 the number of people arriving to live in the country may have risen by more than 15,000 compared to 2012.
According to BNZ economist Doug Steel, one of the main reasons for this increase is the slowdown of the Australian economy which is encouraging more Aussies to head to NZ, and seeing fewer Kiwis going the other way.
The figures show that the net loss of migrants to Australia has shrunk to 1,600 – the lowest level for three years.