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WA is the country’s best-performing economy for the second quarter in a row, shows the latest CommSec State of the States report.
The report tracks eight economic indicators and compares the latest data with decade averages (or the “normal”).
WA led the national performance rankings for the second time in a decade, ranked first on five of the eight indicators: retail spending, relative unemployment, relative population growth, housing finance and dwelling starts.
“What this report shows is what every West Australian knows,” Premier Roger Cook said in a press conference this morning.
“That WA has the strongest economy in the nation. The report also talks to the strongest jobs market in the nation and a strong housing market in the nation. Importantly, we’re top ranked for dwelling starts, which is the strongest sign yet that our housing plan is starting to work, and my WA Labor team has turned the finances around. We have restored the AAA credit rating. We have overseen the creation of more than 340,000 jobs. We’ve put WA in its rightful place as the engine room of the nation’s economy.”
Queensland moved up from third spot, joining South Australia in second spot. Victoria remains in fourth place, with Tasmania steady in fifth.
NSW leapfrogged the ACT into sixth from seventh place, with the nation’s capital slipping back to seventh. The Northern Territory remains eighth.
Chief CommSec Economist Ryan Felsman said overall, economies had slowed in response to higher interest rates and inflation, but were proving resilient due to a strong job market and solid population growth.
As consumers responded to higher borrowing costs and price pressures, the future path would depend whether the job market could hold up as well as the trajectory of interest rates over coming months.
The report also compares annual growth rates of the eight indicators, enabling comparisons of more recent economic momentum. It showed resources-focused Queensland and WA both have the strongest annual economic momentum, and Queensland was now in first spot with Western Australia slipping to second.