We updated our economic tracker to Wednesday 19 August - a full week of the new restrictions (Level 3 in Auckland and Level 2 elsewhere). The full dashboard is here.

Household spending fell sharply in Auckland but rose in most other regions. You can see detailed regional data on MBIE’s excellent tool here.

Activity has fallen during the restriction, but business and economic activity seem to be holding up better under current restrictions than last time:

1) Job ads on Trade Me are 18% higher than previous Level 3/2 experience

2) Traffic volumes - a good proxy for people going to and doing work - are 15% higher

3) Working from home is up significantly seen in internet data use up 16%

4) Electricity use remains a little ahead of this time last year. Suggesting less impact on commercial and industrial activity.