NZ recession real or imaginary?

It’s an odd thing talking about ‘the recession’ with friends and acquaintances.


Personally I have experienced a 40% drop in income over the last 18 months and have been hit very hard.
Inbound wine tourism from USA, UK and Japan (formerly the top three) has dropped radically. Lucky for us, Australia is just across the Tasman and our dollar is weak, so the Aussies God bless ‘em have been flocking over here and gone some way to redress the problem.

But I do find it weird when people in high paid, stable jobs try to sympathise:
‘Yes. Oooo. Interest rates are up … a bit. Hmmm. Gosh it’s tough.’

The thing is – schoolteachers, tertiary lecturers and public servants are all pretty comfortable. And though employees in the private sector probably are watching their backs, fearing redundancy, for the meantime they’re OK. Self employed medical GPs and specialists are pretty comfortable too – they know their jobs are pretty safe.

So it’s really we private sector self-employed, small business operators who are truly feeling the pinch: retailers, tour operators, accommodation providers, journalists, café and restaurant owners etc. It is a saying in NZ that small businesses drive our economy. Too bloody right. And we are the ones to feel the brunt of any slowdown.

Still, unless we hit another international crunch, I believe that things are improving but slowly. I would realistically give it another 3-4 years before we are near back to normal.