A ''shocking'' one quarter of young Kiwis are considering leaving the country, new polling suggests.

The latest figures from the Fairfax Media-Research International poll have finally cheered the Labour Party, which has been battered by a series of poor numbers this week.

> Fairfax 2011 election poll

LEAVING: Twelve per cent of Kiwis said they were considering leaving the country long term and a further one per cent were definitely going to leave.

In the figures, 12 per cent of Kiwis said they were considering leaving the country long term and a further one per cent were definitely going to leave.

People aged under 30 were more likely to be looking offshore, however, with 24 per cent either ''considering'' or ''definitely'' leaving.

Labour's economic development spokesman David Parker said the number of young people planning to leave was a ''shocking statistic''.

''That's terrible and it's because the Kiwi dream is beyond their reach, partly because house prices are beyond their reach and put more out of reach by our tax settings, which benefit the people who own multiple houses because of tax advantages,'' Parker said.

The polling also shows South Islanders are the most inclined to depart, with 15 per cent considering or definitely leaving. The majority of southerners (84 per cent) were still either firmly or probably staying in New Zealand. Other regions showed similar patterns.

Overall, 64 per cent firmly intended to stay and 23 per cent said they would probably stay.

The continued stream of young Kiwis overseas comes as a blow to the National Party, which campaigned strongly before the 2008 election on stemming the flow of people to Australia in particular.

This May, the net exodus of Kiwis to Australia, at 3300, was the highest recorded for that month since 1979. Another 3100 left in June, the highest for that month since 1981.

''The wage gap with Australia is growing rather than narrowing as the Government promised. The underlying problems in our economy are entrenched and they're not being fixed,'' Parker said.

Labour came out of this week's Fairfax polls poorly, with its party vote 29 per cent, leader Phil Goff on 6 per cent as preferred Prime Minister and only 17 per cent backing the party's economic plan.

Parker said Labour had successfully argued there needed to be a change in the policy settings, with a capital gains tax the centrepiece.

''It hasn't helped us in polling yet, but neither has it sent us backward in polling either,'' he said.

''I think what will move public opinion is when they see the back-pocket implications [of Labour's plans] for themselves. When they realise that 98 per cent of New Zealanders get a tax-free zone of $5000 each and the vast majority of New Zealanders are better off.''

A spokesman for Finance Minister Bill English said living overseas was a rite of passage for many Kiwis, so it was natural some people would be thinking of heading offshore in the future.

New Zealand was, however, more attractive in an uncertain global environment.

ACT leader Don Brash, who headed the 2025 taskforce aimed at catching up with Australia, said he was disappointed in National for failing to close the gap.

The gap was still getting worse and the Government had done nothing substantial to accelerate the growth rate, he said.

''John Key made it very clear before the election, not once but repeatedly, that we absolutely had to begin narrowing the gap with Australia if we were to reduce the huge exodus of Kiwis across the Tasman,'' Brash said.

Pollster and Research International managing director Colin Yee said the number of people who actually moved overseas was likely to be much lower than the number who said they were thinking about it.

''People who 'agree somewhat' or say they are 'probably' likely do something are less committed to the action and are therefore much less likely to follow through with it as a rule of thumb 10-20 per cent of these people may genuinely be open to a change.''

* The Fairfax Media-Research International poll was conducted between July 21 and July 25 and surveyed 1004 eligible voters. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.