Victoria has again been named the top economic performer in the country, ahead of NSW in second place.
Victoria has shared top spot with its northern neighbour for the past two CommSec State of the States reports, but the latest has declared Victoria the outright winner.
Victoria claimed top billing on four of eight key indicators, including jobs, economic growth, retail trade and construction work.
It also exceeded the national average on seven of the eight indicators, beating ACT and Tasmania (five) and NSW, Queensland and South Australia (three).
“This latest data confirms what we already knew – Victoria is the nation’s economic pacesetter,” Acting Treasurer Robin Scott said.
The latest data showed Victoria’s economic growth in the March quarter was 26.6 per cent above its average for the past ten years, ahead of NSW (21.1 per cent) and Queensland (20.6 per cent). The growth may be attributed to the Andrews government’s unprecedented infrastructure build.
Victoria continues to outperform other states, with its construction work in 30.1 per cent higher than the decade-average output.
The Victorian government looks set to dominate the top spot as it continues with its massive infrastructure pipeline, delivering projects like the Metro Tunnel, level crossing removals and the North East Link.
“Sound economic management and projects like the Metro Tunnel, level crossing removals and the North East Link are delivering rewards across key performance indicators, like jobs growth, retail trade or construction activity,” Scott said.
The Labor Government’s infrastructure investment averages $13.4 billion annually over the four years to 2022-23 which has almost tripled compared to the long-run average.
The CommSec report notes that Victoria had the strongest job market while its retail spending was up 16.6 per cent above the 10-year average.
Unemployment is at a low of 4.7 per cent which is 16.5 per cent below the decade average, while employment was 14.1 per cent above the 10-year average.
Since, November 2014, more than 474,000 jobs have been created in Victoria.
“We’ll keep on punching above our weight to create jobs and lay the foundations for future growth and prosperity,” Robin Scott said.
