The Hunter’s economy is booming – the latest economic snapshot shows the region is outperforming many other parts of the state and the nation in growth, confidence and investment.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Highlights of the December quarter data, presented at the Hunter Research Foundation Centre’s economic breakfast on Tuesday, included strong growth in full-time jobs, house prices and residential construction.
“Confidence over the longer-term recorded its best reading since March 2011,” the centre’s lead economist, Anthea Bill, said. “Business owners also report that the economy is improving.”
The region’s unemployment rate – 4.6 per cent – is also lower than the state average of 5.1 per cent for the first time in three years.
One sign of the improving economic outlook is the significant fall in youth unemployment, which has gone from 20 per cent two years ago to 8.5 per cent in January – a figure well under the state average of 12.6 per cent.
Across the Hunter, the strongest job growth in the year to November occurred in education and training, financial and insurance services, administrative services and public administration.
The region’s services sector had grown by 26 per cent over the past decade, slightly outstripping the Australian growth rate of 23 per cent.
Most of the Hunter businesses surveyed by the research centre predicted further growth in 2017.
“The figures reflect what we are seeing anecdotally in our business dealings,” ANZ regional executive Paul Cragg said.
“The (Hunter Research Foundation Centre) figures reflect what we are seeing anecdotally in our business dealings.
“There is definitely an improved level of business confidence out there. There are a lot of positive signs around the tourism sector.
“Health and agriculture is also doing very well.”
Another major factor in the region’s good fortune was the continued growth of median house prices, which increased by an average of 6.6 per cent.
Growth in new housing approvals, particularly around Maitland, dramatically out-paced NSW by 11.5 per cent compared to 2.6 per cent.
The value of new housing approvals also grew more strongly than NSW.
Veteran Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon said the ongoing contribution of the coal industry to regional economic growth should not be under-estimated.
“There’s no question that these figures show that we are one of the most economically diverse regions of Australia,” he said.
“But it’s unlikely infrastructure projects like the Hunter Expressway would have been economically viable without the coal industry.
“A lot of economic activity has spun off the coal sector.”
