3. Question No. 3—FinanceDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central) (remote) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 3—Finance3. Dr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central) (remote) to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): The manufacturing sector is continuing to support the economy. Statistics New Zealand reported last week that manufacturing sales jumped 12 percent in the December quarter compared with the previous September quarter as restrictions related to the Delta outbreak were eased. Stats New Zealand said this marked an all-time high for the industry since data collection began in June 1992. Manufacturing activity has remained resilient in 2022 and on Friday the seasonally adjusted BNZ BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index for February rose 1.3 points to 53.6. A reading above 50 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; while below 50 that it is declining. The long-term average is 53.1. New orders and production rose while employment moved back into expansion. BusinessNZ called the result positive but cautioned that the spread of Omicron could still affect business plans in coming months.Dr Duncan Webb: What other reports has he seen on the economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The labour market has remained strong with job ads near record highs. Earlier this month the Seek NZ Employment Report for February 2022 edged down 0.1 percent on January but it is up 68 percent for the year. BNZ economists said that this may reflect the need for businesses to plan for staff with Omicron having to self-isolate but the high number of ads also indicated that firms are taking a view of the labour market beyond the near-term impacts of the pandemic. One exception to the result was in hospitality and tourism which declined 13 percent. But BNZ noted that the reopening of the borders as announced today and the easing of restrictions are expected to help revive the fortunes of these sectors. Overall the BNZ said that the result signals that unemployment will stay at record low levels at the beginning of 2022.Dr Duncan Webb: What reports has he seen on support available to deal with the challenges of Omicron on the economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index reported earlier this month shows that consumer confidence had fallen to its lowest level in the 18-year history of the survey. We acknowledge that this is a challenging time for New Zealanders and these results reflect the spread of Omicron and the rising cost of living due to global factors. We have acted to support households through temporarily cutting taxes on fuel and further support that will be available with the cost of living measures from 1 April. We're also supporting businesses through this time through the targeted COVID Support Payment. The second payment opened on Monday and so far has paid out $70.1 million to 14627 applicants. When combined with the first payment we've now had a total of $424.4 million being paid out to 85794 applicants. We are continuing to protect jobs and support New Zealand businesses by providing cash flow and confidence. We recognise that this is a tough time for many businesses and we are here to support them. The experience overseas indicates that Omicron has an intense but relatively short peak and once that passes confidence will return quickly and spending will rebound.