With services industries leading the charge
The New Zealand business sector has shown a robust increase in research and development (R&D) spending, reaching a new high of $3.7 billion in 2023, according to the latest data from Stats NZ.
This represents a significant $540 million increase, or 17%, from the previous year, marking the largest annual growth since annual data collection began in 2018.
Services industries lead the charge
The surge in R&D spending has been predominantly driven by the services industries, which saw an increase of $331m (15%) between 2022 and 2023. Key contributors include sectors such as computer services, wholesale trade, and scientific research.
Shifts in business participation and investment in R&D
Despite a slight decrease in the number of businesses undertaking R&D, down 2.3% to 2,286 entities, the average expenditure per business on R&D rose significantly.
“We are seeing continuous growth in R&D expenditure, and the number of businesses doing R&D has remained fairly stable over the last three years,” said Ricky Ho (pictured above), business performance manager at Stats NZ. “This suggests that businesses who are doing R&D are investing more.”
Employment and salary trends in R&D
In 2023, wages and salaries accounted for 60% of the total R&D expenditure, amounting to approximately $2.2bn, an increase from $2bn in 2022.
Although the total number of full-time equivalent staff in R&D remained stable at around 21,000, there was a notable 23% increase in the number of researchers, reaching 14,000 FTEs.
“While the number of people working on R&D has remained relatively similar to last year, the proportion of researchers has increased,” Ho said, indicating a shift towards more specialised research roles within the sector.
Read the Stats NZ media release here.
Recent news from Stats NZ also includes data on New Zealand’s latest CPI print and annual food price inflation.
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