Auckland, Wellington becoming more expensive

Auckland and Wellington are becoming less affordable and less attractive to live in.

Mercer’s 2011 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey assessed 214 cities across five continents and measured the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.

Tokyo, Osaka, Singapore and Hong Kong remain the most expensive destinations in the Asia Pacific region with Singapore at 8th place and Hong Kong at 9th place.  

Auckland was placed at 118 moving from 149 as it becomes more expensive. Wellington moved up 27 places to 136.

Rising costs due to currency fluctuations and natural disasters have presented challenges for multi-national organisations managing workforces in New Zealand.

Despite this, New Zealand remains a highly competitive location for international employers with rankings far below those of other cities in Asia Pacific, said Mercer senior associate Sarah Barnaby.

“Organisations managing an international workforce should not view costs associated with currency fluctuations in isolation but factor it into the longer-term growth plan for the business,” she said.
 
Globally, Luanda in Angola is the world’s most expensive city for expatriates for the second year running. Tokyo remains in second position and N’Djamena in Chad in third place. Moscow follows in fourth position with Geneva in fifth and Osaka in sixth. Zurich jumps one position to rank seventh, while Hong Kong drops down to ninth.
 
Across the Tasman, Sydney (14) is up ten places, Melbourne has moved from rank 33 to 21 and Perth has surged 30 places to reach rank 30. Canberra (34) has moved up 40 places and Adelaide (46) is the country’s highest riser, moving 44 places.

“Multinational companies have long understood the competitive advantage of a globally mobile workforce, though the enduring challenge is to balance the cost of their expatriate programmes,” said Mercer senior researcher Nathalie Constantin-Metral.

Currency fluctuations, inflation, political instability and natural disasters are all factors that influence the cost of living for expatriates. Employers need to understand their impact for cost-containment purposes and to ensure they retain talented employees by offering competitive compensation packages.