PwC analysis shows South Australian economy bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels

Some job sectors in South Australia are defying the recession and growing. Here is where working hours actually increased compared to February.

• Plaza flyover shows a hole lot’s been going down

Many South Australians are back working at the same level as before the pandemic hit and several sectors are defying the recession and growing, exclusive research shows.

PwC Australia analysis shows the state is well ahead of the national average for the change in hours worked for the fortnight to September 6, compared with February before the COVID-19 shutdown. And in another encouraging sign, Apple data shows driving in Adelaide has returned to levels similar to before the coronavirus shutdown.

Google mobility data shows fewer people travelling to work as many work from home, but movements for activities including shopping, recreation and park visits are approaching February levels.

PwC chief economist Jeremy Thorpe said the pandemic-induced recession had not affected all industries equally in SA. Clothing stores, gyms and manufacturing were among sectors to increase hours worked compared with February.

“We have seen people shift away from some activities, particularly in hospitality, and many people are working remotely,” he said. “The consequence has been a shift in consumption and employment patterns that, in some instances, see industries operating at levels above those that existed prior to COVID-19.”

The PwC analysis does not assess the impact of the $1500-a-fortnight JobKeeper federal wage subsidy, which reduces from September 28 and will likely lead to some job losses.

It also compares SA with Australia as a whole, including Victoria, where the economy has been ravaged.

The state is well ahead of the national average for the change in hours worked for the fortnight to September 6, compared with February before the COVID-19 shutdown.

But the analysis shows a surge in the change in hours worked in SA compared with February for sectors including doctors, childcare, security services cafes and gyms. Sectors which slumped included accommodation, bars, construction and employment services.

The PwC analysis collects information from rosters for 100,000 workplaces and more than 660,000 shift workers across Australia in 27 industry sub-sectors, managed in the cloud-based Deputy rostering software. SA accounts for about 10 per cent of these.

Analysis of this data is designed to illustrate – in close to real time – how industries with a significant irregular-size workforce are performing, given they rapidly expand and contract employee hours as demand rises and falls – a leading indicator of economic trends.

Deputy’s chief executive Ashik Ahmed said there had been relatively consistent growth in hours worked by rostered staff since the worst of the lockdown in late April.

“South Australia, like other states and territories with infrequent and low COVID-19 exposure, has seen rostered employment bounce back in many sectors, while some others clearly continue to languish,” he said.

PwC Adelaide managing partner Jamie Briggs said SA was well positioned to capitalise on post-pandemic recovery.

Premier Steven Marshall said the report highlighted the SA economy’s resilience but said there was more work to be done to support jobs and businesses in the greatest economic challenge of our time.

“This report is certainly encouraging and, together with other leading indicators, shows the South Australian economy is weathering the COVID storm relatively well,” he said.

But Opposition Treasury spokesman Stephen Mullighan said the PwC report gave a distorted view because it compared SA with Australia, including Victoria.

Business SA chief executive Martin Haese welcomed the positive signs but said: “those businesses in the hardest hit sectors … such as international tourism and events remain severely impacted and are likely to remain so for some time.”