Infometrics’ principal economist Brad Olsen believed it was hard to be a student without some form of income over and above what one might get from Government support.

“Realistically for most students, the fees component of what they have to pay is not the biggest bit, it’s their living costs,” he said.

More than 20% of students surveyed said it had been more than three days since last having a piece of fresh fruit or a fresh vegetable.

It’s a concerning outlook for VUWSA who feared there were students who were eating less healthily than they’d like to.

More than 20% of students have gone multiple days without fresh fruit and veggies Photo / 123rf

It has caused a “massive increase” in the number of students making use of the community pantry available on campus.

“It signals that students are struggling to make ends meet, to put food on the table, and not only that, they’re also struggling to put nutritious food on the table,” said Rogacion.

Olsen said it was a bit of a surprise, seeing as fruit and vegetables weren’t considered the most expensive part of a supermarket shop.

He said the price of vegetables had fallen 0.7% on last year, and while the price of fresh fruit is up 6%, “the likes of meat prices have gone up quite a lot more.

“We’d expect probably to see more students that are having to make more difficult choices around the likes of how they’re getting their protein” said Olsen.

Students skipping class due to cost of public transport

The survey found almost half of those using public transport said the cost made them consider other means of getting to university, while 38% said the cost had driven them to skip classes altogether.

Public transport is costing $20 or more per week for 29% of students.

Of those not using public transport, 72% said it was because of the infrequency of services, with over 170 students saying the reliability of services has impacted their decision to not use public transport.

Transport provider Metlink currently runs a bus service from the central train station to Kelburn Campus every 10 minutes during peak times, and its performance report from December last year cited 99.5% of bus services were delivered.

Majority of students working while studying

About 60% of students are working as well as studying, with the majority in either the hospitality or retail sector.

Of students not working, 66% felt unhopeful about finding work in the capital in the next six months, while over half were actively looking for work.

VUWSA believes students are losing hope they'll find a job in New Zealand. Photo / Andrew Bonallack

VUWSA believes although one of the biggest worries for students is employability after university, a big part is having a part-time job alongside study to “help you pay rent, and help do all of the awesome and fun things that students love to do on a weekend”.

The capital’s current job market came down to “high competition” with unemployment figures leaving people to search for “literally any role” said Olsen.

“We know looking at Seek data over the last year or so that there are sometimes two to three times the number of applications per job than there would have been back in 2019,″ he said.

Wellington has had a 3% drop in 15-24 year olds currently in jobs, and a similar drop in the number of 25-35 year old group, meaning there were “job cutbacks and a pullback in employment” all while there was “high competition for the remaining roles,” Olsen said.

Rogacion said the increasing competition for decreasing amount of work spoke to a lot of the reasons students were looking abroad for options.

Students already looking to move overseas after graduation

Thousands of Victoria University students appear to already have plans to leave New Zealand, with 70% reporting thinking about moving overseas to find work and opportunities after graduating.

While the vast majority were intending to pursue opportunities relating to their study, only 33% felt hopeful about finding opportunities in their field domestically.

For Rogacion, it said a lot about the lack of hope that students felt about the economy and “students’ prospects post study”.

Victoria University students continue to cite the cost of living as a top concern. Photo / File

“It’s easy to see, when you see really attractive high wages and lower cost of living overseas compared to what our students are telling us they’re dealing with right now.”

Rental markets showing positive signs

Of the students who flat, more than 40% are paying between $200-$250 per week on individual rents, while well over half cite the quality of both the flat and flatmates as positive.

The condition of homes, as well as the landlords’ responsiveness is seen as relatively satisfactory by the majority of students.

It came as a “surprise” for Rogacion and the VUWSA team, who said it was a “turnaround from the stories we saw on the front pages just a few years back as the housing market in Wellington shifts towards one that’s a bit friendlier for renters”.

Tobias Macintosh is a Newstalk ZB Multimedia Journalist, based in Wellington. He joined NZME in June 2025, after obtaining a Bachelor of Broadcasting Communications at the New Zealand Broadcasting School in Christchurch. Putting a spotlight on all things happening in and around the capital, he also has a keen eye on local politics, crime and justice, and foreign affairs.