The Hunter region of NSW had the lowest unemployment rate in the nation over 2011 averaging 2.3 per cent while the Far North of Queensland had the highest jobless rate, averaging 8.8 per cent over the year.
- Solid demand for coal and related industries underpins the fortunes in the Hunter while challenging conditions in the tourism sector has reduced job opportunities in Cairns and related areas.
- Regions close to city centres continue to experience lower rates of unemployment than regions further away from CBDs. But there are cracks beginning to appear. Both inner Sydney and central Perth experienced big reductions in employment over 2011.
- Southern Melbourne recorded the largest lift in employment over 2011.
- The inner Sydney region lost almost 11,000 jobs over 2011 and the unemployment rate rose from 3.5 per cent to 4.7 per cent. The NSW Government should be closely dissecting reasons for the slump in a previously super-strong regional job market.
The lows and highs of unemployment
- There have been few changes in the rankings of high and low unemployment regions. Both the Far West of NSW and Far North of Queensland have the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Far North Queensland, centred on Cairns, had a jobless rate averaging 8.8 per cent over 2011 – more on par with unemployment rates recorded in the US or Europe. And Far West NSW had an average jobless rate of 8.5 per cent over the past calendar year. There will always be haves and have nots across the Australian economy but clearly these regions should be the subject of policy action by state and Federal governments.
- The high jobless rate in Far North Queensland can be put down to the high Australian dollar and global uncertainties, crimping tourist flows to the region. The reasons for high unemployment in Far West NSW are less obvious, more a by-product of reduced job opportunities.
- The northern part of the Gold Coast is also a victim of challenging conditions affecting the tourism sector as well as a property downturn. The jobless rate in the Gold Coast North statistical region averaged 8.4 per cent in 2011.
- Canterbury-Bankstown (8.3 per cent) and Fairfield-Liverpool (7.3 per cent) continue to have far higher jobless rates than northern suburbs of Sydney. Central Northern Sydney (3.7 per cent), Lower northern Sydney (3.7 per cent), and Northern Beaches (3.4 per cent) all occupy spots in the ten lowest unemployment regions of the nation.
- In contrast to high unemployment rates on the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, North Queensland, and Wide Bay Burnett (including towns like Maryborough, Hervey Bay and Kingaroy) inner Brisbane had one of the lowest jobless rates in the nation over 2011 at 3.6 per cent.
- Regions close to city centres dominate the low jobless rate rankings with Inner Melbourne (3.4 per cent) joining inner Brisbane together with Central Northern Sydney and Central Metropolitan Perth.
- Just like Brisbane and Sydney, the further you travel away from the Melbourne CBD, the higher the unemployment rate with Outer western Melbourne (6.8 per cent) and North Western Melbourne (6.6 per cent) both in the ranks of 10 highest jobless rates in the nation. And Northern Adelaide (7.9 per cent) is another region to follow this trend.
The job creators and shedders
- One of the big surprises over the past year has been the slump in employment in inner Sydney. Between December 2010 and December 2011, almost 11,000 jobs were lost in inner Sydney. The jobless rate in inner Sydney is still reasonably low at 4.7 per cent, but it is well up from an average of 3.5 per cent in 2010 and no longer amongst the lowest unemployment regions in the nation. Clearly the NSW Government forensic team should be investigating the reasons for the sharp deterioration in the economic fortunes of inner Sydney.
Interestingly the low jobless region of the Hunter lost over 9,000 jobs over 2011 with the deterioration setting in from September. The jobless rate also rose from 1.9 per cent to 2.3 per cent. Admittedly the changes have taken place from what was probably an unsustainably strong job market. - Another interesting result was the differing fortunes of Gold Coast North and Gold Coast South in 2011. Gold Coast South created 9,000 jobs while Gold Coast North shed almost 2,000 jobs over the year, although admittedly Gold Coast North is far larger.
- The job creating regions were dominated by Victoria and Western Australia. In Southern Melbourne over 12,000 jobs were created with Loddon-Mallee creating almost 11,000 jobs and North Eastern Melbourne adding over 7,000 jobs. And in Western Australia, South Western Perth, Regional and Lower Western areas were major job creators.
What are the implications for investors?
There is much talk of multi-speed economies, but sharply differing economic fortunes can exist within capital cities and within states let alone across the nation. The lowest unemployment rate in the nation doesn’t exist in Western Australia but in the Hunter of NSW, while the South Eastern region of NSW has the second lowest jobless rate. It is clear that there are greater regional differences in states like NSW, Victoria and Queensland than Western Australia.
A good knowledge of the differences across Australia is helpful for investors to understand the variable conditions being faced by Australian businesses.