Research Paper no. 14 2007–08
State economic and social indicators
Tony Kryger
Statistics and Mapping Section
17 December 2007
- This paper presents a number of tables and charts that allow
comparisons to be made between individual Australian states and
territories in terms of their performance across a wide range of
social and economic indicators.
- Each table has data for the last five years, while each chart
presents data for the latest year that data are available.
|
Contents
Introduction
Historical data
Labour market
1.1 Employment
1.2 Unemployment
1.3 Labour force
1.4 Long-term unemployed
1.5 Youth unemployment
1.6 Job vacancies
1.7 Industrial disputes
Wages and
prices
2.1 Average weekly ordinary time
earnings
2.2 Real average weekly ordinary time
earnings
2.3 Male total average weekly
earnings
2.4 Real male total average weekly
earnings
2.5 Wage price index
2.6 Consumer price index
State accounts
3.1 Gross state product
3.2 Gross state product per
capita
3.3 Labour productivity
Business conditions
4.1 Turnover of retail
establishments
4.2 Motor vehicle sales
4.3 Dwelling approvals
4.4 Business investment
4.5 Bankruptcies
Housing
5.1 Lending for owner occupied
housing
5.2 Home loan size
5.3 Home loan repayments
5.4 House sale prices
5.5 House rents
Financial management
6.1 General government sector net
debt
6.2 General government sector fiscal
balance
Exports
7.1 Merchandise exports
Social
8.1 Population
8.2 Dependency ratio
8.3 Births
8.4 Apparent school retention
rates
8.5 General practice bulk
billing
8.6 Private health insurance
Glossary
Introduction
While the Australian economy has
been performing strongly over recent years, there have been quite
varied performances across the states and territories. In
particular, those jurisdictions with strong exposure to the mining
boom Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory have
generally experienced higher rates of economic growth, lower
unemployment rates, stronger wages growth and higher levels of
business investment than that experienced in the rest of the
country. This has been a fairly persistent trend over time,
widening the gap in the performance of different parts of the
country.
The disparity in performances across Australia has resulted in
increased attention being paid to economic and social conditions in
the individual states and territories. The purpose of this paper,
therefore, is to present a range of indicators for the states and
territories in such a way that comparisons can be made. This has
meant that some indicators that merely reflect the size of a state
economy (e.g. retail turnover) have been presented so the emphasis
is on the annual growth rate of the indicator. Other indicators
have been presented as a ratio, e.g. employment to population or
debt to gross state product, so that comparisons can be made.
This publication is the first in a proposed series to be updated
annually. It is a companion publication to Monthly Economic and
Social Indicators that contains only Australia wide data.
As there are many economic and social terms that may be
unfamiliar to some readers, a glossary has been provided at the end
of this publication.
Historical data
Long-term data series for every table that appears in this paper
are available electronically and can be found at //libiis1/Library_Services/Quicklinks/state_mesi/index.htm.
The long-term series for the companion publication Monthly
Economic and Social Indicators can be found at //libiis1/Library_Services/Quicklinks/mesi_edata/index.htm.
Note: The above links can
only be accessed by members, senators and parliamentary staff.
Back to top
Back to top
Back to top
Back to top
Glossary
Apparent school retention rate. The number of full-time
school students in a designated level/year of education expressed
as a percentage of their respective cohort group (which is either
at the commencement of their secondary schooling or Year 10).
Average weekly earnings. Average gross (before
tax) earnings of employees.
Average weekly ordinary time earnings. Weekly
earnings attributed to award, standard or agreed hours of work.
Bankruptcies. Bankruptcies and Administration
Orders under Parts IV and XI of the Bankruptcy Act
1966.
Business investment. Private gross fixed
capital formation for machinery and equipment; non-dwelling
construction; livestock; and intangible fixed assets.
Consumer price index. A measure of change in
the price of a basket of goods and services from a base period.
Changes in the consumer price index are the most commonly used
measures of inflation.
Dependency ratio Ratio of the economically
inactive to economically active population. Shows the number of
children aged 0 14 years and persons aged 65 years and over, per
100 persons aged 15 64 years.
Employed persons. Persons aged 15 and over who,
during a period of one week, worked for one hour or more for pay or
worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on
a family farm.
General government sector. Government
departments and other entities that provide largely non-market
public services and are funded mainly through taxes and other
compulsory levies.
General government sector net debt. Selected
liabilities (deposits held plus proceeds from advances plus
borrowing) minus selected assets (cash and deposits plus
investments plus advances outstanding) of the general government
sector.
General government sector fiscal balance. The
financing requirement of the general government sector. A positive
sign, or fiscal surplus, indicates a net lending position; a
negative sign, or fiscal deficit, indicates a net borrowing
position.
General practice bulk billing rate. The
percentage of general practitioner attendances (excluding practice
nurse) that are bulk billed.
Gross domestic product. The total market value
of goods and services produced within Australia, after deducting
the cost of goods and services used up in the process of production
but before deducting for depreciation.
Gross state product. Equivalent to gross
domestic product except that it refers to production within a state
or territory rather than to the nation as a whole.
Gross state product chain volume measures. Also
known as real gross state product, this is a measure used to
indicate change in the actual quantity of goods and services
produced within a state or territory.
Gross state product per capita. The ratio of
the chain volume measure of gross state product to an estimate of
the resident Australian population.
Job vacancy. A job available for immediate
filling and for which recruitment action has been taken.
Job vacancy rate. The number of job vacancies
expressed as a percentage of the number of employee jobs plus the
number of job vacancies.
Labour force. The employed plus the
unemployed.
Labour force participation rate. The number of
persons in the labour force expressed as a percentage of the
civilian population aged 15 years and over.
Labour productivity. Gross state product (chain
volume measures) per hour worked, all sectors (i.e. market and
non-market sectors).
Long-term unemployed. Persons unemployed for a
period of 52 weeks or more.
Male total average weekly earnings. Weekly
ordinary time earnings plus weekly overtime earnings of all male
employees. This measure of earnings is used in the process of
benchmarking pensions.
Private health insurance hospital coverage
rate. The percentage of the total population that has
private health insurance hospital coverage.
Real average weekly earnings. Average weekly
earnings adjusted for inflation as measured by the Consumer Price
Index.
Total fertility rate. The average number of
children that females will bear during their lifetime.
Turnover. Includes retail sales; wholesale
sales; takings from repairs, meals and hiring of goods; commissions
from agency activity; and net takings from gaming machines.
Turnover includes the Goods and Services Tax.
Unemployed persons. Persons aged 15 and over
who, during a period of one week, were not employed but had
actively looked for work in the previous four weeks and were
available to start work.
Unemployment rate. The number of unemployed
persons expressed as a percentage of the labour force.
Wage price index. A measure of change in the
price of labour (i.e. wages, salaries and overtime) unaffected by
changes in the quality or quantity of work performed.
Youth unemployment. Number of 15 19 year olds
looking for full-time work.
Youth unemployment rate. Number of 15 19 year
olds looking for full-time work expressed as a percentage of the
full-time labour force in the same age group.
Back to top