New figures show greater Adelaide is thriving
Greater Adelaide has enjoyed strong economic growth, a new report says, however our regions are struggling.
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Greater Adelaide has enjoyed its third year of strong economic growth, according to national research, but the regions are struggling.
The city’s economy grew by 3.2 per cent in 2018-19, the report by SGS Economics and Planning finds.
“After being a perennial underperformer economically over the past decades, the South Australian capital has experienced a boom over the past three years and outperformed national growth,” the report says.
“In 2018-19, Adelaide’s GDP grew by 3.2 per cent, compared to the national GDP growth rate of 1.9 per cent.”
SGS national leader of economic and social analysis Terry Rawnsley said healthcare and construction were the two biggest contributors to South Australia’s GDP growth.
“The long decline of the closing car industry has come to an end, and now population growth might have just turned a bit,’’ Mr Rawnsley said.
The Economic Performance of Cities and Regions report finds healthcare is the largest industry in Adelaide because of the city’s ageing population.
Treasurer Rob Lucas welcomed the independent findings, saying: “Adelaide, as a region, is growing very strongly.
“What it shows is the increasing importance in the economy of the construction sector and the healthcare sector for growth within Adelaide.”
Mr Lucas said the State Government’s $11.9 billion infrastructure investment had played a role in the positive numbers.
The report shows Adelaide contributed 78.2 per cent of South Australia’s $85 billion GDP, the highest share on record.
The Adelaide City, Mitcham and Charles Sturt council districts were the areas that contributed the most to the economic growth.
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However, the report says South Australia’s regions continue to struggle.
Falls in agricultural production as a result of drought conditions saw regional South Australia’s economic output drop by 2.9 per cent.
That was the worst result for any region right across Australia.
Opposition treasury spokesman Stephen Mullighan said South Australia was falling behind other states in many respects.
“All other key economic indicators are also heading in the wrong direction,” Mr Mullighan said.
“Unemployment is up to 6.2 per cent, retail trade is down 0.5 per cent – the worst in Australia – and property prices have fallen by 1 per cent.’’
Business SA chief executive Martin Haese was pleased with the report’s findings.
“This is a strong result and hopefully augurs well for Christmas trading and economic performance in 2020,” he said.
“However, with export growth being a key priority, Business SA emphasises the need for both the metropolitan and regional economies to perform equally well.”
