The Statistics branch of the government released figures today that showed the average family are subjected to yet further harder economic conditions.

Being in business in a small provincial town in New Zealand, this comes as no real shock whatsoever. Local businesses are reporting a very soft and quiet winter, which ends up affecting the whole cashflow chain, as people start extending their terms of trade out of necessity, holding out for the boom of the summer tourist trade, if it comes. This has such a huge impact on the whole local economy, as it tends to just knock the stuffing out of alot of people, as they are unsure if they are going to get paid or not, and when that will be, if ever. Factor into this all of the uncertainty within the finance and banking industries, and times do feel scary to some degree, but also an opportunity to revisit the way in which your business is conducted.

The recent 2.5% rise in GST has also seen alot of business revisit their pricing structures, and round up to factor in other price rise considerations. The cost of credit and the servicing of debt whilst waiting for the cashflow cycle to come back around to them has certainly risen over the past year, along with a range of other goods and services (ACC comes to mind), so for the business owner, the GST rise seems an opportunity to change prices now rather than later.

What this tends to do though is further undermine local economic recovery, as everyone suddenly feels the sting of price rises, and shuts the purse strings a little tighter. A solution perhaps is to look to expand your market. The internet has brought the rest of the world to our collective doorstep, so now is as good a time as ever to get out there and expand your market. If done correctly this releases your business from the specific local pressures, and opens up entirely new revenue streams.

The main crux of the statement released by Stat's NZ is this:

Median weekly income for all people from all sources slightly decreased to $529, compared with the June 2009 quarter figure of $538 and the June 2008 quarter figure of $536. A small rise in wage and salary income was offset by decreases in other sources of income.

That is a shocking low figure considering the cost of servicing a mortgage on the average kiwi home these days. I am also presuming that this figure is inclusive of tax too.

Click on the read more to see the full statement.

From the Official Statistics NZ website:
< http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/work_income_and_spending/Income/NZIncomeSurvey_MRJun10qtr.aspx >

New Zealand Income Survey results for the June 2010 quarter showed income slightly decreased (a non-significant change) since the June 2009 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today. The New Zealand Income Survey is an annual survey that is run during the June quarter (April to June) and provides a snapshot of income statistics about people and households.

Median weekly income for all people from all sources slightly decreased to $529, compared with the June 2009 quarter figure of $538 and the June 2008 quarter figure of $536. A small rise in wage and salary income was offset by decreases in other sources of income.

Median weekly wage and salary income for those receiving wage and salary income slightly increased by 1.2 percent since the June 2009 quarter. This is the lowest annual movement recorded for the NZ Income Survey since the June 1999 quarter. While there was a slight rise in income from wages and salaries, the proportion of the working age population receiving this form of income has slightly decreased since the June 2009 quarter (from 54.1 percent to 53.5 percent).

Median hourly earnings from wages and salaries rose by $0.53. This is the smallest rise recorded in hourly earnings for the NZ Income Survey since 2003.

Median weekly income from government transfers for those receiving government transfer income slightly decreased by $4 to $269. The number of people receiving government transfers has increased significantly by 54,400 (4.9 percent) since the June 2009 quarter. In the last two years the number of people receiving government transfers has increased by 88,100 (8.3 percent).

Since the June 2009 quarter, median weekly income from self-employment, for those receiving self-employment income fell $38 (6.3 percent) to $575. Median weekly income from investments for those receiving investment income, dropped by $3 to $12.