Treasurer Peter Gutwein on good economic news high

TREASURER Peter Gutwein has had a top start to the week after several days of good economic news for the state.

GUTWEIN AT INCAT

TASMANIA’S Treasurer has had a top start to the week after several days of good economic news for the state.

On Thursday, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed the state’s unemployment rate had matched the national average of 6.2 per cent, with more Tasmanians in jobs than ever before.

On Friday, Incat reported it will need to put on about 300 more workers to meet a flood of ship orders coming in from around the globe.

Today, the Deloitte Access Economics Business Outlook said Tasmania’s decade of economic pain was “dissipating”, but warned the state’s “demographics remain dire”.

Plus, today’s Australian Residential Development Outlook said building activity in the state had grown 51 per cent.

Treasurer Peter Gutwein said news of the new jobs at Incat was an example of the economic recovery that was being noted in a growing number of reports.

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Incat’s workforce is set to explode over the next six months as it works to fill orders from around the world.

The company has 11 vessels to deliver to customers between December and late 2017 and needs many more workers to get the job done.

“Tasmanian businesses are the most confident in the country, never before have we been able to say on the national stage that Tasmania is the most confident place to do business,” Mr Gutwein said.

One of the new Sydney Harbour ferries being built at Incat. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

“(The jobs at Incat) are the real life examples of the recent string of positive figures and reports.”

With many of Incat’s ships going to overseas buyers, Incat managing director Robert Clifford said the business’s fortunes were tied to economic forces far beyond Tasmania.

“The world’s economic crisis has held ship building back for the last 10 years, ship owners haven’t had the money to spend, they now have ships that are much older ... fuel is becoming much more sensitive, you can’t burn the black fuel any more that ships were burning, they have to burn much more expensive fuel, that means more modern ships are necessary, everything is working in the right direction,” Mr Clifford said.