Waikato regional economic profile - Waikato Regional Council

2 Key indicators2.1 SummaryA comprehensive picture of economic wellbeing would ideally be based on aframework that provides an indication of wealth – such as the genuine progressindicator approach. As described in section 1.2, the development of a genuine progressindicator will, in future, provide a more complete picture of economic wellbeing in theregion. In the interim, this chapter outlines several key indicators of economic wellbeingin the Waikato region.Gross regional product is a measure of economic activity that refers to the marketvalue of all final goods and services produced within the region in a given period.Gross regional product per capita is calculated to be lower than GDP per capitanationally and export sectors contribute a relatively small proportion of gross regionalproduct and employment. Median weekly household incomes are lower than thenational average despite the level of employment being similar to the country as awhole. There are a number of very deprived communities even though socialdeprivation in the region is only slightly worse than the country as a whole.2.2 Gross regional productGDP refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within acountry in a given period. Similarly, gross regional product (GRP) is for a particularregion. Waikato GRP was estimated at $14.2 billion in the year ended June 2010. 36GRP per capita in 2011 is estimated at $40,000, which was lower than GDP per capitanationally at the same time, of $44,000 37 .Industry sector contribution to GRP, or value added, is calculated by subtracting thecost of inputs from the total output of each sector. The largest contribution to GRP in2011 was from the construction and real estate sector, as illustrated by figure 5. Mostof the other large sectors (business services, wholesale and retail trade and health andeducation) primarily fulfil domestic demand. It is the agriculture and manufacturingsectors which provide income from exports, and these sectors form a relatively smallproportion of GRP.36It is problematic to calculate the growth rate because previous estimates were based on an earlier version of theStatistics New Zealand supply-use table. This affects the regionalisation process and therefore earlier figures arenot directly comparable.37Statistics New Zealand (2011) Gross Domestic Product and National Population Estimates: June 2011 quarter andNational Population Estimates: June 2011 quarter.Doc # 2069885 Page 13