West Coast - Riding a wave

A buoyant regional economy and high employment has seen the West Coast go from backwater to boom town in recent years.

At the same time there has been an influx of people from around New Zealand and overseas attracted by job prospects, a high-quality lifestyle, affordable housing and safe, friendly communities.

Latest figures from the National Bank’s economic activity index – calculating key economic indicators including consumer confidence, regional exports, real estate turnover and registered unemployed – show that while the West Coast has lagged behind New Zealand over the last ten years, in three of the last five years, economic activity has increased faster on the West Coast than the rest of the country and the gap appears to be narrowing.

That success has been fuelled by growth in the key industries of dairying, mining and tourism. The coal mining industry alone is predicted to double in size within the next ten years, with wages for this sector the second highest in the country.