SA up to fifth in latest state of the state’s report
SOUTH Australia has climbed one place in a latest, quarterly state ranking of comparative economic performances and growth rates.
SOUTH Australia has climbed one place overall in a latest, quarterly state ranking of comparative economic performances and growth rates.
The October 2018, CommSec State of the States report shows SA to be the third ranked state when it comes to construction but is flailing badly when it comes to population growth.
Victoria remains in top spot on the economic performance rankings ahead of NSW although there is little to separate the two economies.
There are however four groups of economies in Australia says CommSec with SA just ahead of Queensland in group three.
Victoria is in top spot due to strong construction activity and the lowest jobless rate in a decade.
NSW is in second spot on the economic performance with SA climbing to fifth largely on the basis of its relative, and positive, position on business investment.
The report analyses 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 long-term averages to determine the level of ‘normal’ interest rates; we have done the same with key economic indicators,” the report says. For each state and territory, the latest readings for the key indicators were compared with decade averages – against the “normal” performance.
Looking ahead, the report says there is little to separate Victoria from NSW. It is possible the two states could exchange rankings over the next year it suggests. Strong job markets provide support for local economies although it is expected that home building will soften in the period ahead.
The report shows that SA shifted its relative position on a number of indicators but especially lifted on business investment.
The trend in annual growth in SA is up 23.4 per cent within construction and 5.6 per cent in home starts.
Victoria has retained top spot with construction work done almost 39 per cent above its decade average. NSW construction was next strongest, 31.4 per cent above the “norm” or decade-average but is followed by a strong performance from SA (up 25.3 per cent).
In NSW, Victoria and South Australia construction work done was at record highs in the June quarter.
Housing finance in SA, by contrast, is down by 2.6 per cent while population shows a mere 0.67 per cent rise, behind only the Northern Territory. Victoria, at 2.18 per cent and ACT at 2.08 per cent lead the annual population increases, which have a 1.55 per cent average jump across all states and territories.
The trend unemployment rate in Victoria is the lowest in a decade while in SA the trend unemployment rate has sat at six year lows for the past four months.