NSW still the best performing state economy: CommSec

An improving jobs market and above-average population growth have put the wind in NSW’s sails, according to CommSec.

New South Wales has retained its ranking as the best performing state economy and its grip on the top spot looks likely to continue as an improving labour market and above-average population growth give the state solid momentum.

That’s one of the findings of CommSec’s April State of the States report, which also found Victoria took out second place and narrowed the gap with NSW due to upbeat figures for housing finance, population growth, retail trade, jobs and housing starts.

But Western Australia lost one spot in the rankings, slipping from fifth to sixth as the state’s mining investment boom continues to cool. The state’s performance on jobs, business investment and population growth was weak compared to the other states.

The ACT took out third place in the list, with improved housing activity and business investment set to boost the territory’s labour market over the rest of the year, while the NT came in fourth with a warning that the looming completion of key resource projects and slow population growth will put the brakes on economic momentum.

In Queensland, fifth in the rankings, the lower Australian dollar should support tourism and agricultural exports in the coming months, CommSec found.

Tasmania and South Australia came in at the bottom of the economic rankings, although positive trends are evident in each, the report found — the SA job market has been improving and tourism in Tasmania has the tailwind of a lower currency.