State leads on jobs growth

TASMANIA is holding firm in fourth place on CommSec’s latest national economic report card, thanks to stable jobs data, population growth and sound housing figures.

CommSec’s latest State of the States report to be released today has also ranked Tasmania third in terms of population growth and unemployment and listed its annual employment growth as the highest in the nation.

NSW, Victoria and the ACT were the top performers with Western Australia, where the end of the mining boom has hit hard, in last position.

Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Michael Bailey said the state should be proud of how far it had come in recent years and the direction it was heading.

Treasurer Peter Gutwein said the ranking was further proof that the Tasmanian Government’s long-term plan was working.

“Since we were elected, 10,500 jobs have been created and industries like tourism, hospitality, retail, agriculture and building and construction have gone from strength to strength,” he said.

“The CommSec Report states that Tasmania is now ranked third on unemployment as its 5.8 per cent jobless rate is 5.3 per cent below the “normal” (decade-average) of 6.1 per cent. Tasmania also has the strongest annual employment growth at 3.8 per cent — the fastest growth in two-anda-half years.’’

Tasmania’s solid performance is also due to the best population growth rate in six years, Mr Gutwein said.

The report found the state’s annual population growth rose from 0.44 per cent to a near six-year high of 0.58 per cent in the December quarter and was 3.6 per cent higher than its decade average.

The strongest annual growth in home prices was recorded in Melbourne (up 13.7 per cent), followed by Sydney (12.2 per cent), Canberra (9.6 per cent) and Hobart (6.8 per cent).

Mr Bailey said the state was growing in the areas the TCCI was most excited about — tourism, agricultural and horticulture.

“The results are a far cry from where we were four years ago and the positive outcome is supported by the results of our recent confidence survey,” he said.

It was not all good news however, with a 21 per cent slump in business spending on new plant and equipment in Tasmania.