Household saving increases following nationwide lockdown, Stats NZ said today.
New Zealand households saved over $3.8 billion this quarter, driven by a 6.3 percent drop in household spending. This fall in household spending reflects the impact of higher COVID-19 alert level restrictions in place during the September 2021 quarter.
"In quarters where New Zealand has been in alert level four lockdown we have seen large falls in household spending, as parts of the economy have been unable to operate as usual. Despite this fall, household spending was $6.4 billion higher than during the June 2020 quarter which included approximately four weeks of the first nationwide level 4 lockdown," national accounts institutional sector insights senior manager Paul Pascoe said.
Households spent approximately $3 billion less this quarter compared to the March and June 2021 quarters. Spending dropped particularly on services and durable items, including restaurant meals, accommodation, clothing, motor vehicles, and furniture during the September 2021 quarter. More detail can be found in the Gross domestic product: September 2021 quarter release.
Lower spending led to an increase in the ratio of household saving to net disposable income, to 7.5 percent in the September 2021 quarter, up from 1.0 percent in the June 2021 quarter.
| Quarter | Household saving ($) |
| Jun-16 | 277000000 |
| Sep-16 | -384000000 |
| Dec-16 | -207000000 |
| Mar-17 | 297000000 |
| Jun-17 | -507000000 |
| Sep-17 | -396000000 |
| Dec-17 | 361000000 |
| Mar-18 | 219000000 |
| Jun-18 | 283000000 |
| Sep-18 | 306000000 |
| Dec-18 | 278000000 |
| Mar-19 | 298000000 |
| Jun-19 | 825000000 |
| Sep-19 | 1344000000 |
| Dec-19 | 1256000000 |
| Mar-20 | 2142000000 |
| Jun-20 | 7159000000 |
| Sep-20 | 2673000000 |
| Dec-20 | 1892000000 |
| Mar-21 | 581000000 |
| Jun-21 | 510000000 |
| Sep-21 | 3847000000 |
| Quarter | Saving ratio (%) |
| Jun-16 | 0.7 |
| Sep-16 | -1 |
| Dec-16 | -0.5 |
| Mar-17 | 0.7 |
| Jun-17 | -1.3 |
| Sep-17 | -1.0 |
| Dec-17 | 0.9 |
| Mar-18 | 0.5 |
| Jun-18 | 0.7 |
| Sep-18 | 0.7 |
| Dec-18 | 0.6 |
| Mar-19 | 0.7 |
| Jun-19 | 1.8 |
| Sep-19 | 2.9 |
| Dec-19 | 2.7 |
| Mar-20 | 4.5 |
| Jun-20 | 14.9 |
| Sep-20 | 5.4 |
| Dec-20 | 3.8 |
| Mar-21 | 1.1 |
| Jun-21 | 1 |
| Sep-21 | 7.5 |
Total income received by households fell by 0.3 percent, driven by a $245 million decrease in income received by self-employed business owners.
Household compensation of employees grew $429 million, reaching $38.6 billion this quarter. This rise in compensation of employees reflects the increase in employment and wage rates observed in Labour market statistics: September 2021 quarter.
