Monthly immigration at 3.5-year high as Australian exodus dwindles
Seasonally adjusted, there were about 1740 more new migrants arriving to New Zealand than leaving in May.
New Zealand's monthly immigration climbed to a 3.5-year high last month as fewer locals quit the nation for Australia, with prospects here taking on a brighter sheen than the country's transTasman neighbour.
Seasonally adjusted, there were about 1740 more new migrants arriving to New Zealand than leaving in May, up from 1600 a month earlier, and the highest monthly inflow since January 2010, Statistics New Zealand says.
That coincided with a net outflow of some 1860 New Zealand citizens across the Tasman, the smallest net loss to Australia since mid-2010.
Australia has been a favourite destination for many Kiwis seeking better wages and a higher standard of living with almost open access to the larger nation. In the past year the economic fortunes of the two nations has turned, with New Zealand's recovery gathering pace as the Canterbury rebuild unfolds, and Australia's mining boom seen as peaking soon.
In unadjusted terms, there was an outflow of 324 migrants in May, for an annual gain of 6242. Australia provided the biggest pool of new migrants at 1325, followed by 842 from the UK, 628 from India, and 404 from China.
Australia accounted for about 19 percent of the 87,778 new permanent residents in the year ended May 31, followed by the UK at about 16 percent. China was third with about 8.9 percent, then India at about 7.2 percent.
Today's figures showed a slight fall in seasonally adjusted visitor arrivals to 230,400 in May from 231,900 in April. In unadjusted terms, visitor arrivals climbed 8.7 percent to about 153,000 from May 2012, and were up 0.5 percent to 2.63 million on an annual basis.
(BusinessDesk)
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Monthly immigration at 3.5-year high as Australian exodus dwindles
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