NSW is Australia's leading state economy, followed by Victoria

New South Wales is Australia’s best performing state economy, followed by Victoria and ACT, according to CommSec‘s latest State of the States report.

The report looks at eight economic indicators, including economic growth, retail spending, business investment, unemployment, construction work, population growth, housing finance and dwelling commencements, to provide an analysis of the performance of each state and territory each quarter.

Of these eight economic indicators, New South Wales has scored the top ranking in five categories, but unsurprisingly it fell short in housing finance. Victoria took out second place due to strong population growth, followed by ACT with a top ranking in the housing finance category and strong annual employment growth.

Craig James, CommSec Chief Economist stated that “as we saw in the last quarter, Australia’s economies are in good shape but it is the two most populous states that lead the way on the back of solid activity in home purchase and construction.” 

How each state compares:

1. New South Wales

“New South Wales has maintained the top spot on the retail rankings, followed by Victoria. The remainder of the retail rankings are unchanged on the previous quarter,” said Mr James.

1. Victoria

“Victoria remains clearly in second place on the performance rankings with few changes over the past quarter. It also leads annual growth rates on two indicators,” said Mr James.

1. Australian Capital Territory

“The ACT remains in top spot on housing finance with the number of commitments up by 36.7 per cent on the long-term average,” said Mr James.

1. Tasmania

“Tasmania is now on top of the relative population rankings, with its 0.64 per cent annual population growth rate 15.8 per cent, above the decade-average rate,” said Mr James.

1. South Australia

“In terms of annual growth rates, South Australian construction work done in the September quarter was up 22.8 per cent on a year ago,” said Mr James.

1. Queensland

“Queensland has the strongest annual employment rate at 4.6 per cent, alongside the ACT and above New South Wales at 3.5 per cent,” said Mr James.

1. Northern Territory

“In the year to September, exports from the Northern Territory were up by 35 per cent on a year ago. The Northern Territory also has the fastest nominal annual economic growth rate in the nation, up by 11.9 per cent on a year ago,” said Mr James.

1. Western Australia

“Western Australia’s population in the June quarter was up by 0.84 per cent on a year ago – it was actually the fastest rate in two years. In terms of construction work, WA saw it fall 42 per cent below the decade average in the September quarter,” said Mr James.

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