Consumer Confidence on the Rise in Wellington

Consumer confidence in Wellington has risen for the fourth consecutive month and is at its highest point in nearly two years.

The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence survey shows the upward trend in Wellington is being driven by positive expectations in the future.

Overall, the survey found consumer sentiment stronger than a year ago - among 24 - 35-year-olds it is at a 22-month high - although "the underlying spirit remains one of caution".

The Council's Economic Portfolio Leader, Councillor Jo Coughlan, says the latest data is further evidence that Wellington's economy is performing strongly.

"Wellington has a great base to work from," says Cr Coughlan.

"Our priority is to grow the economy and create jobs and the signals are that we are moving in the right direction. We have a thriving community of very talented businesses across the spectrum, from IT to hi-tech manufacturing. This combined with our world-class public sector, is building our reputation internationally as the smart capital.

"Wellington has a key role to play in the growth of the New Zealand economy - we are open for business and must leverage every opportunity to achieve our vision of 10,000 new jobs."

The latest economic data comes after a survey of businesses earlier this month that found Wellington scored the highest of any local authority in the country's major cities.

The MYOB Business Monitor asked over 1,000 small-to-medium enterprise business owners whether they were satisfied or dissatisfied with their local council and regional authority performance in helping their business over the last six months.

Of the major cities, Wellington had the best performing council, with only 33% dissatisfied, compared to 42% in Christchurch and 49% in Auckland.

Mayor Celia Wade-Brown said: "This is another piece of good news for the Capital, to go alongside the recent MYOB survey that showed Wellington ranked top of New Zealand's major cities for business satisfaction with local councils."