New Zealand Reaps Rewards of Declining Resources Sector
New Zealand's buoyant construction economy is not only drawing home Kiwis from Australia but also attracting Australians who are coping with their country's struggling resource economy or coming from softening North American energy and mining markets. New Zealand's government has been actively recruiting in Australia, running job fairs for local industry employers in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
Over the past decade, many New Zealand workers have crossed the Tasman Sea to Australia due to its mining and energy boom. But, in July, Australian business strategy firm Newport Consulting Group reported the loss of 30,000 mining jobs there in 2014, with possibly equal cuts foreseen this year. The sector has been hard-hit over the past two years, with coking coal and iron ore under pressure because of weaker prices. Last year, Newport reported a five-year low in the sector's confidence. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the quarter ending June 2015 show growth in the economy slowing to 0.2%