Tasmania’s economy flying high, reveals latest MyState update

THE Tasmanian economy is in good shape, new figures show.

THE Tasmanian economy is in good shape, new figures show.

The latest MyState Tasmanian Economic Update showed strong household consumption, retail sales, international tourism and exports had led to seven consecutive quarters of economic growth.

Australian Bureau of Statistics employment figures, released yesterday, showed the unemployment rate in trend terms was 6.7 per cent for September, the same as the revised figure for August.

However the ABS figures also showed a slight increase in the participation rate — the proportion of people working or actively looking for work — and that 400 jobs were created in September.

“Confidence is up across industries and that’s leading to businesses employing more Tasmanians,” Treasurer Peter Gutwein said.

“The creation of more jobs also encourages more people to actively look for work and that’s why we’ve seen growth in the participation rate.”

MyState Limited chief financial officer David Harradine said although some economic indicators had eased, MyState remained positive about Tasmania’s economic outlook.

“Household consumption remains an area of strength and increased 2.6 per cent over the past financial year,” he said.

“Growing government spending is providing more important economic support to the economy and should boost Tasmania’s productive capacity.

“Tasmanian retail sales have also been robust, signalling strong consumer confidence, and grew 5 per cent faster than any other state in financial year 16.”

Mr Harradine said tourists continued to visit Tasmania in record numbers, with total visitor numbers up 2 per cent and international visitor numbers up 13 per cent last financial year.

“Despite this expansion there was zero visitor growth in the South during the year, with anecdotal reports putting this down to a lack of hotel rooms,” he said.

Mr Harradine said employment growth had been “pretty good” in the West and North-West but challenges remained in Launceston and North-East.

Originally published as Tasmania’s economy flying high, reveals latest MyState update