New Zealand’s small businesses record largest sales drop in June

WELLINGTON, July 25 (Xinhua) — New Zealand’s small businesses recorded the largest drop in sales in June, but were still attracting staff despite financial strain as jobs and wage growth remain strong, according to a survey on Thursday.
Small business sales fell 1.5 percent year-on-year in the June quarter, experiencing a decline for two consecutive months in May and June, with June’s decline of 8.3 percent marking the largest monthly fall since May 2020 during the first COVID-19 lockdown, showed the Xero Small Business Insights data.
The decline was an indication that small businesses are facing pressure from New Zealand’s turbulent economy, said Paul Churchman, head of Sales of Xero NZ, a global small business platform.
All industries experienced a sales decline in June, with the largest quarterly declines in hospitality, construction and retail trade, while the real estate industry recorded positive sales growth, Churchman said.
Internationally, New Zealand experienced the largest monthly sales drop in June, more than double Australia’s 3.5 percent year-on-year decline, and more than Britain’s 5.2 percent drop, the survey showed.
However, small business jobs rose 6.7 percent year-on-year over the June quarter, slightly below the 7 percent rise in the March quarter, it said, adding jobs growth has been gradually slowing for the past 18 months after peaking at 9 percent year-on-year in the March quarter 2023, but remains well above the pre-pandemic average of 3 percent year-on-year.
Redundancies across big firms and the public sector have potentially provided New Zealanders with opportunities working in the small business sector, Churchman said.
Small business wages grew 3.6 percent year-on-year in the June quarter, the largest rise since the March quarter 2023, the survey said, adding this acceleration of wage growth suggests small businesses remain eager, and are currently able to pay larger wages to attract talent.
However, this raises the question of how long small businesses will be able to sustain this trend if sales don’t pick up, Churchman said. ■