The Asian Age

Oz population rising at alarming rate

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Sydney, Dec. 14: Australia’s population is expanding at the fastest pace in the developed world as skilled migrants flock to the resource- rich nation, a fillip to economic growth overall but perhaps also a source of puzzling weakness in wages.

Government figures released on Thursday showed the number of people resident in Australia increased 388,100 in the year to June, a rise of 1.6 percent on 2015/ 16. That was far above the global increase of 1.1 percent, and well ahead of the United States’ gain of 0.7 percent and Canada’s 0.9 percent.

There’s still plenty of room for more, given the giant continent still only has 24.6 million people, putting it at 53rd in United Nations global population rankings. Much of Australia’s growth came in net overseas migration, which surged more than 27 percent in the year to June to 245,500. That was the highest 12- month total since 2009, while the flow into the states of New South Wales and Victoria beat records. “A strong labor market is attracting interstate and overseas migrants to Melbourne, while better housing affordabil­ity and jobs growth is driving population growth in Queensland and Tasmania,” said Ryan Felsman, a senior economist at CommSec. “Overall the stronger rate of population growth is boosting spending, demand for infrastruc­ture, demand for homes, and overall economic growth.”

 ?? — AFP ?? Mourners leave after attending the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Thursday. They marked the six month anniversar­y of the Grenfell Tower fire.
— AFP Mourners leave after attending the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Thursday. They marked the six month anniversar­y of the Grenfell Tower fire.

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