The 2023 Infometrics Creativity Index confirms many of the trends and outcomes of previous years, but with some subtle differences below the surface. The overall importance of the arts and creative sector to the New Zealand economy was unchanged in 2023 from a year ago, with 4.27% of the workforce employed in the sector.
Wellington City still well out in front
Wellington City is New Zealand’s most creative city, according to the Infometrics Creativity Index. Wellington City has ranked top of the table since our time series began in 2000 and its place at the top of the ranking has never been under threat.
The Index measures the proportion of the workforce that is employed in creative industries and occupations, and in 2023 showed that Wellington City had 6.77% of its workforce employed in creative work, well ahead of second-placed Queenstown-Lakes District with 5.64%, and Auckland with 5.34%.
Creative sector a major contributor to Wellington City’s economy
Wellington City’s creative sector contributed $2.1b towards the local economy in 2023, accounting for 6.7% of the City’s economic output. The sector’s growth has outstripped other sectors, experiencing growth of 4.1%pa over the ten years to 2023, well ahead of the total city economy which grew by 2.9%pa.
However over the last year, the creative sector in Wellington fell slightly as a proportion of the workforce, from 6.9% in 2022 to 6.77% in 2023. This lower proportion occurred despite creative employment increasing by a few hundred people in 2023, as public sector employment growth accelerated in 2023.
Christchurch, Kapiti Coast jockey for position
The Top 10 placings for the Creativity Index in 2023 also shows some jockeying for position, with Kapiti Coast rising into fourth place with 4.9% of employment (up from 4.7% in 2022), overtaking Dunedin City. The difference for these two areas is by the slimmest of margins, with 4.89% of Kapiti Coast’s, and 4.86% of Dunedin City’s, employment being in the creative sector.
Christchurch moved into seventh place in 2023, with 4.10% of the local workforce employed in the creative sector, overtaking Lower Hutt’s 4.06%.
Kaipara District is the biggest mover
The Northland districts are well represented in the list of biggest movers up the rank of creative areas. Kaipara has jumped from a ranking of 35 in 2013 to 13 in 2023 and is threating to break into the top 10. Far North District and Whangarei District are also big movers, jumping to spots 12 and 22 respectively.
Upper Hutt City has jumped from 19 to 11. The opening of the $50 million Lane Street Studio in Upper Hutt has given the city’s creative sector a huge boost and it could help push it into the top 10 over the next few years.
A more challenging outlook for the creative sector
The outlook for the creative sector is set to be more challenging over the next few years. Although partial indicators for the 2024 year show headline growth in employment for key industries in the creative sector, growth has been slower as the economy has slowed due to higher interest rates. We will announce the 2024 Creativity Index in 2025 once we have processed all detailed data.
More pressure on households has forced a reprioritisation of spending, with recreation and culture seeing the largest decline in the share of household spending going towards different spending groups.
Declines in employment across parts of the media over recent months will only show through in the 2025 Creativity Index, reinforcing the challenging tone of employment across the wider sector at present.
Technical note
The creative sector has been measured using Infometrics online Sector Profiles. We have defined a sector which includes a range of creative industries (for example, motion picture and video production, performing arts operation) and occupations (for example, musician, architect). The online profile provides a wide variety of indicators for the creative sector including employment, contribution to GDP, demographic characteristics of the workforce, and earnings. More details can be found here.
Previous Creativity Index editions
