CommSec’s State of the States economic report released today shows South Australia in second position, behind Tasmania, the equal best ranking for SA since the surveys began in 2009.
The Marshall Government has welcomed the report as further evidence of South Australia’s strong jobs and economic recovery from the depths of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
CommSec attributed SA’s rise to improvement in relative unemployment, with the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 3.9 per cent in December 2021, down 38.5 per cent (or 2.5 percentage points) on the decade average.
In line with recent ABS figures showing South Australia being the fastest growing economy in the nation, CommSec noted that SA’s relative economic growth in the year to the September quarter 2021 was 17.4 per cent above its decade average.
CommSec also highlighted a strong increase in equipment investment in the September quarter, with spending on new plant and equipment up 27.4 per cent on the decade average.
Treasurer Rob Lucas welcomed the report, which outlined further positive signs that the South Australian economy will continue to recover strongly from the global pandemic.
“This report comes hot on the heels of the latest ABS job stats which showed SA’s unemployment rate of 3.9 per cent was the lowest since monthly records began in 1978,” Mr Lucas said.
“Consistent with CommSec’s report, we’ve also seen the recent Deloitte Access Economics Business Outlook, which attributed South Australia’s success during the pandemic to both ‘strong health outcomes and strong government support’.
“While South Australia’s strong jobs and economic rebound is going well, with SA the fastest growing economy in the nation, it’s important that we keep the momentum going to ensure SA’s strong economic recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic continues.”
In further positive signs for business and consumer confidence in the South Australian economy, construction work done in the September quarter was 21.3 per cent above the decade average, while retail spending was 9.4 per cent above the decade average.
“We know we must continue to protect jobs and support SA businesses to get through these challenging times so they can help drive our economic recovery – which is exactly what our recently announced business support package does,” Mr Lucas said.
“South Australians have done an incredible job of working together and now is the time to continue to pull together to support our hardworking small businesses who are the backbone of the state’s economy.”
