WA Economic Profile for December 2017

Main updates this month

Labour market

• Total employment rose 2.7 per cent (34,900) through the year to November 2017, with rising full-time employment (up 3 per cent or 27,500) and part‑time employment (up 2 per cent or 7,400).
• The largest increases in employment through the year to the December quarter 2017 were in education and training (up 23,700) and healthcare and social assistance (up 18,600), while the largest falls in employment were in manufacturing (down 16,000) and mining (down 8,700) over the same period.
• The unemployment rate of 6.6 per cent in November 2017 was above the 6.0 per cent in the previous month, but below the 6.7 per cent a year ago.

Other

• Population growth of 0.8 per cent (21,400) in 2016-17 was below annual average growth of 2.1 per cent over the past ten years. Natural increase (20,000) and net overseas migration (up 13,100) offset falling net interstate migration (down 11,700) in 2016-17.
• Services exports fell 1 per cent to $6.8 billion in 2016-17. The largest increase in services exports in 2016-17 was in education‑related travel (up 12 per cent), while the largest decline was in personal travel (down 6 per cent).
• Perth’s median established house price fell 3 per cent to $500,000 through the year to the September quarter 2017. Perth rents fell 8 per cent over the same period.

 

The latest WA Economic Profile will be available on the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation’s website soon.