State & territory economic performance report
- How are Australia’s states and territories performing? CommSec has attempted to find out by analysing eight key indicators: economic growth; retail spending; equipment investment; unemployment, construction work done; population growth; housing finance and dwelling commencements.
- Just as the Reserve Bank uses decade averages to determine the level of “normal” interest rates; we have done the same with the economic indicators. For each state and territory, indicators were compared with decade averages – that is, against the “normal”.
- It is clear that the ACT has the stand-out economy at present. In the ACT, unemployment is low, with housing activity, construction, population growth and economic growth all above average. The only blots on the copybook are retail spending and business investment.
- The Western Australian economy had also been an out-performer but it has slipped back to the pack. While construction work is the clear driver, population growth has slowed, dragging on the housing sector. Unemployment is low compared with other states but it has been drifting higher.
- There is little to separate Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania and NSW. Certainly NSW has been a major improver over the last quarter led by above-average population growth and firmer business investment. But both the Queensland and NSW suffer from weak housing markets – the only two economies where dwelling starts are below decade averages.
