WA’s economy officially the best of the best

Western Australia is officially the country’s best-performing economy, according to the CommSec State of the States report released Monday.

The state has topped the list for the first time since July 2014, thanks to surging performance across the board.

WA has been crowned the best-performing economy in the country.Credit: CommSec

The report tracks eight key indicators: economic growth, retail spending, unemployment, population growth, equipment investment, construction work, housing finance and dwelling starts.

WA led in three categories, retail spending, unemployment and population growth, securing its position as the top state or territory for the quarter.

“Western Australia’s robust economic fundamentals, especially its low unemployment and strong population growth, has fuelled nation-leading consumer spending, pushing the state to the top of the leaderboard for the first time in a decade,” the report read.

“WA is well positioned for sustained future performance; however, the competition remains intense, particularly among the top three states, with Queensland moving quickly up the rankings.”

WA Premier Roger Cook said the report confirmed what West Australians had known for years that the state was the engine room of the national economy.

“We have the lowest unemployment rate. We have the fastest growing economy, fastest growing population, and it’s about understanding that the continued prosperity of Western Australia represents the continued prosperity of the nation,” he said.

You’re not wrong if you think the shops have been busier than usual of late. WA’s retail spending was 10.5 per cent higher in the June quarter 2024 compared to its decade average.

Population growth in WA far outpaces the rest of the nation, with the 3.11 per cent annual growth double the decade average.

On Thursday WA’s population hit 3 million people for the first time.

All those new residents are also driving new car sales. WA is doing the best in the country with vehicle sales up 25 per cent on the decade average.

WA also recorded the strongest economic momentum for the fourth survey in a row, but all that heat in the economy is hurting hip pockets.

Perth had the highest annual inflation rate in the June quarter 2024 at 4.6 per cent, ahead of Adelaide (4.5 per cent) and Sydney (3.8 per cent).

Liberal leader Libby Mettam said WA was booming but families weren’t feeling it.

“Many average, ordinary Western Australians will be asking themselves, ‘how is it that we are enjoying the largest boom this state has ever seen, but my household fees and charges keep going up’,” she said.

Cook said despite the strong economy people were still doing it tough but he was heartened by reducing rates of inflation.

“I’ve listened to the Treasurer [Jim Chalmers] today, who said that we are starting to really get on top of inflation now that has come down significantly from the seven percentage points when they came into government, to now, where we’re looking between 2 per cent and 3 per cent,” he said.

“We’re all looking for that day that the RBA starts to now reduce interest rates and that would obviously be a welcome relief to all Australian families when that happens.”

And despite increasing its dwelling starts by 24.3 per cent in the past year, the report listed home building as the state’s biggest weakness, as the property market continues to be under-resourced.

The report said that in the year ahead, WA could consolidate its position atop the leaderboard given its strong recent economic performance.

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