South Australia’s brain drain to return despite ‘superb’ handling of COVID-19, Deloitte report forecasts
The exodus of young professionals from South Australia is likely to resume, a report warns. But the recovery that boosted our population last year is still happening.
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The exodus of young professionals from South Australia is likely to ramp up now that domestic border restrictions have lifted, hindering the state’s COVID recovery, a national economic report says.
Forecasting released today by Deloitte Access Economics says SA’s workforce woes will be compounded by the prolonged closure of international borders, preventing immigration which fuelled growth.
The Business Outlook said the state “jumped out ahead of the virus” when it recorded an unemployment rate of 6.2 per cent at the end of last year – the lowest of all the states.
The state’s population also prospered, with ABS figures for the June and September quarters recording more people entering from interstate than moving away.
The report says South Australia handled COVID “superbly”, and, because of that, had been able to make a headstart on its recovery.
But it said a slump has now emerged, and the rest of the recovery period will be “more of a grind”.
“The state has spent many of its tickets,” the report, principally authored by economist Chris Richardson says. “Having begun its recovery earlier, SA has relatively less capacity for catch-up growth through the remainder of 2021.”
The report predicts the return of the brain drain – a problem that has plagued the state consistently in recent decades.
“The opening of state borders is likely to see the exodus of young professionals return,” it says.
The latest HIA Economics state outlook said students and workers will be attracted to Sydney and Melbourne once they open to overseas migration, business and tourism.
International border closures and trade restrictions from China are expected to stall economic growth, particularly for the state’s exporters.
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