1367.5 - Western Australian Statistical Indicators, Sep 2006  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 04/10/2006   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

MEDIA RELEASE

October 4, 2006
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
93/2006

Measuring Western Australia's progress

A special feature article, 'Measures of Western Australia's Progress', is included in Western Australian Statistical Indicators (cat. no. 1367.5) released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The article uses a variety of indicators to gauge social, economic and environmental progress in WA over the past 10 years. They include:

    Work: WA's unemployment rate fell by 2.7 percentage points between 1995 and 2005 (from 7.4% to 4.7%).

    State income: Between 1994-95 and 2004-05, disposable income per person grew by around 4% a year.

    Economic hardship: Between 1994-95 and 2003-04, the disposable income of "less well-off" Western Australians grew by 15%.

    Housing: In 2004, 69% of WA householders owned their homes outright or were paying them off. This is down slightly from 70% in 1995.

    Productivity: During 1994-95 to 2004-05, labour productivity in Western Australia rose 21%.

    The air and atmosphere: In 2004, Western Australia's net greenhouse gas emissions were estimated to be 69 megatonnes carbon dioxide-equivalent -- 9% higher than in 2003, and 20% higher than in 1990.

    Family, community and social cohesion: In 2005, lone mother families accounted for 19% (43,000) of all families in Western Australia with children under 15 years of age, an increase from 16% (32,000) in 1995.

    Crime: The personal crime rate in Western Australia has shown no change between 1998 and 2005.


The feature article can be found in the September quarter Western Australian Statistical Indicators (cat. no. 1367.5) and uses ABS and other data.