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ECONOMIC STATISTICAL SUMMARY


Employment and Earnings

• In December 2010, the unemployment rate for WA remained stable in trend terms at 4.6%, significantly lower than the national rate (5.1%).
• Strong employment growth was recorded in the November quarter 2010 for Construction (up 9,400 persons, 7%); Administrative and support services (up 8,300 persons, 23%); and Agriculture, forestry and fishing (up 6,800 persons, 17%).
• In WA, there were 30,300 job vacancies in November 2010, 6.8% higher than in August 2010.
• In the 12 months to August 2010, average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults in WA rose by more than 5% in trend terms.
• In 2007-08, WA recorded the second highest average total income ($47,488) behind the Australian Capital Territory ($52,330).

• In the September quarter 2010, state final demand in WA (chain volume measures) increased by 1.2% in trend terms and maintained the strongest annual growth of all states and territories.
• Final consumption expenditure by households, which makes up about 44% of total state final demand, recorded an annual increase of around 5% in both trend and seasonally adjusted terms.

• Perth's Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 0.5% in the September quarter 2010, the lowest increase among the eight capital cities.
• In the September quarter 2010, Perth was one of only three capital cities to record an increase in its preliminary established house price index (0.4%).
• In the September quarter 2010, the increase in the price index of materials used in house building in Perth (0.1%) was below the weighted average increase of the six State capital cities (0.4%).
• In the September quarter 2010, the Wage Price Index for the Private and Public sectors in WA increased by 1.2% and 1.0% respectively.

• In November 2010, WA was one of four states to record positive growth (0.3%) in monthly retail turnover (trend) while, nationally, retail turnover remained unchanged.
• In November 2010, sales of new motor vehicles in WA decreased marginally in trend terms but were 13% higher than in November 2009.

• In the September quarter 2010, Western Australia recorded a trade surplus of almost $21 billion. While the value of imports to WA fell by 15%, the value of exports from WA decreased only marginally (-0.4%).
• Iron ore and concentrates continued to be Western Australia's leading export commodity in the September quarter 2010, increasing by 6.6% to $13.6 billion.
• In the September quarter 2010, WA received its largest value (over $930 million) of imports from China, followed by the United States of America and Singapore.

• Total new capital expenditure in the September quarter 2010 was higher in both trend (13%) and seasonally adjusted (20%) terms than in the same quarter of the previous year.
• In original data terms, the value of lending commitments in the month of November rose across all types of finance except Commercial finance, which fell by 8%.
• In November 2010, the number of dwelling commitments for owner occupier increased in both trend (1.3%) and seasonally adjusted (2.2%) terms over the previous month.

• In November 2010, the trend estimate for dwelling units approved rose slightly in WA for the third consecutive month. WA was one of only two states to record a monthly increase (1.3%) while, nationally, the trend estimate fell 0.4%.
• The value of building work done in the June quarter 2010 rose to approximately $3.1 billion, with non-residential building being the greatest contributor to the increase.
• The value of engineering construction work in WA was $6.9 billion for the June quarter 2010, 17% higher than the value for the June quarter 2009.

• In the September quarter 2010, total expenditure on minerals exploration increased for the fifth consecutive quarter, climbing above $360 million in trend terms.
• In original terms the quantity of diamonds produced in the September quarter 2010 was 6% higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2009, while the quantity of iron-ore produced increased by 2.5% and the production of bauxite remained fairly steady over the period.

• Just over 54,000 tourists arrived in the September quarter 2010, an increase of 4.5% from the same quarter of the previous year. South East Asian countries accounted for 42% of all visitors, most notably Malaysia (17%) and Singapore (16%).
• In the September quarter 2010, around 198,000 residents left WA for overseas holidays, 19% more than in the same quarter of 2009. The popularity of Indonesia as a holiday destination continued, with about 84,800 resident departures to that country during the quarter.