Xero is an accounting software giant<\/a> that started in New Zealand but is now a global firm.<\/p>\nIt is popular among small and medium-sized businesses for the likes of accounting, payroll, budgeting and payment tools.<\/p>\n
Not all businesses use Xero, and the report relies on information from its clients.<\/p>\n
Across New Zealand, in the March quarter, small business labour productivity averaged $74 per hour worked, down from $75.30 per hour in the December quarter, according to the report.<\/p>\n
Xero country manager Bridget Snelling said a lack of meaningful improvement was a concern.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s disappointing we\u2019re not seeing the kind of improvement needed to lift the small business economy,\u201d Snelling said, of a nationwide trend.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor small business owners, improving productivity isn\u2019t just an economic concept \u2013 it\u2019s a practical way to grow profits and lift wages, regardless of wider conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are clear opportunities here. Businesses that invest in the right processes, skills and digital tools are better placed to free up time, focus on customers, and drive growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Statistics NZ data shows the manufacturing sector was the sector with the biggest economic growth in New Zealand during the March 2026 quarter, growing 1.9%.<\/p>\n
That covers the likes of transport equipment, machinery and equipment manufacturing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat growth is being driven by world-leading firms like Dawn Aerospace and Rocket Lab [which has its New Zealand launch site in Mahia], medtech manufacturers like Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, and the specialist firms building the components that go into them,\u201d Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Cameron Brewer said.<\/p>\n
Small businesses are generally considered companies with fewer than 20 staff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cRegional productivity outcomes were mixed, largely reflecting industry composition,\u201d the report read. \u201cManufacturing\u2011focused Hawke\u2019s Bay recorded the highest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":489222,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7793,138,10166,2841,1976,78,3025,111,139,69,89279,28225,1560,4499,4478],"class_list":["post-489221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-bays","tag-business","tag-businesses","tag-country","tag-hawkes","tag-in","tag-most","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-productive","tag-ranked","tag-report","tag-small","tag-workers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}