[Adelaide] South Australia jumps two positions in CommSec economic rankings
The South Australian economy is showing signs of growth, rising two positions to fifth place in CommSec’s State of the States report.
The report, which was released today, shows South Australia improving its performance in the areas of economic growth, equipment investment and housing finance compared to other Australian states and territories.
For economic growth South Australia moved from sixth position to fifth in the last quarter, and ranked third in the nation in equipment investment.
South Australia also registered improved performance in the housing finance category, coming fourth in terms of finance commitments, an indication of real estate and housing construction activity.
The report also acknowledges the improvement in the South Australian jobs market in the past year and particularly in the past quarter.
Background
The quarterly CommSec State of the States report ranks states and territories based on eight key indicators: economic growth, retail spending, equipment investment, unemployment,
construction work done, population growth, housing finance and dwelling commencements.
The report uses decade averages to rate states compared to their usual performance.
Quotes attributable to Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis
These are positive signs as we transition away from traditional manufacturing to an economy based on advanced manufacturing and other high value-adding industries.
South Australia has ranked above the other mining states of Western Australia and Queensland, which illustrates the resilience of our economy.
Last year’s State Budget was about cutting taxes so that businesses are free to invest and grow. This year we are offering Job Creation Grants of up to $10,000 for each new employee above current staff numbers to help small businesses employ more people.
There is a lot of work still to be done to bring down the unemployment rate in South Australia, particularly as the closure of Holden approaches.
But what we are seeing here are green shoots as businesses seek to invest in new equipment and South Australians take advantage of housing construction incentives.
Source: News Release, Government of South Australia, 25th July, 2016