News

Regional business confidence has stabilised and partially recovered since the sharp softening recorded in May, with the Southern economy outlook lifting meaningfully and hiring intentions rebounding strongly. However, the picture is not uniformly positive. Financial performance expectations have eased further, the fuel crisis is still worsening for most businesses, insurance costs are an emerging new pressure, and critically for the election period more businesses now believe New Zealand is heading in the wrong direction than the right one.

The South continues to outperform the national picture by a clear margin, a pattern that has been consistent throughout the two-year survey series. But the gap between regional and national sentiment, and the gap between what businesses want from politicians and what they are currently getting, will define Business South's advocacy agenda as the November election approaches.
This quarter also marks the first time the survey has benchmarked AI adoption across the business community. The results are striking: nearly three in four businesses are already trialling or using AI, a level of adoption that is well ahead of most regional business surveys nationally.

Below the Key Insights. For the full results head to the Business South phone app.