Results from the 2006 census put North Shore's population at 220,300. Population growth in the city is in line with that of the Auckland region (12.4%) and above the national rate (7.8%). North Shore has 5.1% of the NZ population.
A total of 86,080 employees worked in North Shore City as at February 2007. This represented 4.5% of the total employees in New Zealand. The largest industry in terms of employees was the retail trade, which employed 16.1% of all employees in the city. The property and business services employed a further 15.2% of total employees in the city.
A total of 26,398 businesses were located within North Shore City as at February 2007, representing 5.3% of all businesses in New Zealand. The principal industry within North Shore City was the property and business services industry, which accounted for 41.2% of all businesses within the city. The next most significant industry within the city was the construction industry.
There was a total of 50 new building consents worth around $20 million issued for residential dwellings in North Shore City during September 2009. This was a significant increase from the 32 consents issued in August 2009 and the 18 consents issued in September 2008. The annual average growth rate in the number of new building consents issued in North Shore City for residential dwellings has improved from negative 30.3% for the year ended August 2009 to negative 19.2% for the year ended September 2009.
There was a total of 407 houses with a median sale price of $555,000 sold in North Shore City during September 2009. While September 2009's level was 19 sales less than the number recorded in August 2009, it was significantly greater than the 246 houses sold in September 2008. The annual average growth rate in the number of houses sold in North Shore City was 27.2% for the year ended September 2009.
Summary
Higher than expected annual inflation along with a high level of business confidence suggests that the New Zealand economy is now recovering for the recession. However, a subdued labour market and a struggling export industry (partly caused by a strong Kiwi dollar) suggest that a full recovery is some way off at this stage. North Shore's economic indicators for the year ended September 2009 are now showing signs of improvement with the annual average growth rate in the number of car registrations, the number of new building consents issued for residential dwellings and the number of houses sold being faster than New Zealand's annual average growth rates for these indicators in this period. These improvements are reflected by the fact that the annual average growth rate in North Shore's index has improved by around 0.2 percentage points between the year ended July 2009 and the year ended August 2009 and is becoming more similar to the annual average growth rate in New Zealand's index.
The Westpac McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index for the June 2009 quarter showed that consumers have regained some of their confidence with the index standing at 106, up from the 96 recorded in the March 2009 quarter (an index greater than 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists).
