JOBS IN NEW ZEALAND

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The economy of New Zealand is the 53rd-largest national economy in the world measured by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and 68th-largest in the world measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). It is one of the most globalised economies and depends greatly on international trade, mainly with Australia, the European Union, the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Canada. The Closer Economic Relations agreement with Australia means that New Zealand's economy is closely aligned with the Australian economy.

New Zealand's diverse market economy has a sizable service sector, accounting for 63% of all GDP activity in 2013.^[17]Large scale manufacturing industries include aluminium production, food processing, metal fabrication, wood and paper products. Mining, manufacturing, electricity, gas, water, and waste services accounted for 16.5% of GDP in 2013.^[17] The primary sector continues to dominate New Zealand's exports, despite accounting for 6.5% of GDP in 2013.The major capital market is the New Zealand Exchange, known as the NZX. As of November 2014, NZX had a total of 258 listed securities with a combined market capitalisation of $94.1 billion.^[18] The currency is the New Zealand dollar, informally known as the "Kiwi dollar"; it also circulates in five Pacific island territories. The New Zealand dollar is the 10th most traded currency in the world.

 The New Zealand economy has been ranked first in the world for Social Progression, which covers such areas as Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and the level of Opportunity available to its citizens.^[22] However, the outlook includes some challenges. New Zealand income levels, which used to be above those of many other countries in Western Europe prior to the crisis of the 1970s, have dropped in relative terms and never recovered. As a result, the number of New Zealanders living in poverty has grown and income inequality has increased dramatically.

New Zealand has also had persistent current account deficits since the early 70s, peaking at -7.8% of GDP in 2006 but falling to -2.6% of GDP in FY 2014.^[23] Despite this, public debt (that owed by the Government) stands at 38.4% (2013 estimate) of GDP,^[13] which is small compared to many developed nations. However, between 1984 and 2006, net foreign debt increased 11-fold, to NZ$182 billion.^[24] By March 2014 net foreign debt had dropped back to NZ$141.6 billion, which represents 61.5% of GDP. 

Despite New Zealand's persistent current account deficits, the balance on external goods and services has generally been positive. In FY 2014, export receipts exceeded imports by NZ$3.9 billion.^[23]There has been an investment income imbalance or net outflow for debt-servicing of external loans. In FY 2014, New Zealand's investment income from the rest of the world was NZ$7 billion, versus outgoings of NZ$16.3 billion, a deficit of NZ$9.3 billion.^[23]The proportion of the current account deficit that is attributable to the investment income imbalance (a net outflow to the Australian-owned banking sector) grew from one third in 1997 to roughly 70% in 2008.

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