Auckland's lost its top spot on ASB's economic regional scoreboard

It ranks regional growth year-on-year across measures including employment, building consents and retail sales.

Southland's topped the rankings this quarter, and Auckland's dropped to fifth place.

Chief economist Nick Tuffley says Auckland's previous high scoring had a lot to do with migration.

He says it still has reasonable employment growth, matching national averages - but it's getting less spectacular in some areas.