Article by WAN Editor-in-Chief Anthony De Ceglie courtesy of the West Australian
For some time now it has been clear WA is the key to the national economy.
And this week there was further proof of how the iron ore sector, in particular, was driving jobs and government revenue.
Monday’s release of the WA mid-year Budget review said the operating surplus for 2020-21 had been revised up by $1 billion to $2.2 billion.
Revenue was forecast to swell 10.5 per cent in 2020-21, compared with the 6.1 per cent growth predicted in October’s Budget.
The review predicted WA’s jobless rate will average 7 per cent this year before returning to pre-COVID levels of 5.5 per cent by 2022-23.
And gross State product — or the overall size of the WA economy — was expected to grow 2 per cent in 2020-21, up from the 1.25 per cent predicted in the Budget.
Then yesterday Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data showed WA had recovered nearly every job lost during the coronavirus pandemic with the State’s unemployment rate improving again in November to 6.4 per cent off the back of big gains in full-time work.
That compares with a national jobless rate of 6.8 per cent, with WA well ahead of Tasmania (7.9 per cent), Queensland (7.7 per cent), Victoria (7.1 per cent) and marginally better than NSW (6.5 per cent).
The ABS data revealed there are now just 1600 fewer jobs in WA than in February, with 11,400 people picking up work last month.
WA’s participation rate — a measure of the proportion of people either in jobs or looking for work — also grew to 68.7 per cent, by far the best figure of all States and well above the national average 66.1 per cent.
WA’s underemployment rate — the percentage of people looking for more hours — also improved in November to 7.9 per cent, again well ahead of the national average 9.4 per cent.
The final piece of the picture came with the Federal midyear economic and fiscal outlook yesterday. It showed higher tax receipts from booming iron ore sales to China and 650,000 fewer than expected JobKeeper recipients helped slash the forecast 2020-21 deficit by $15.9b. The deficit for the 2020/21 financial year is now forecast to be $197.7b, rather than the $213.7b announced in October’s Budget.
Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers said the Budget update should be a “thank you card” to WA, which, he said, was single-handedly holding up the national balance sheet. He was correct.
It was a further reminder for Eastern States residents of how much WA does for them.
Responsibility for the editorial comment is taken by WAN Editor-in-Chief Anthony De Ceglie