Victoria's economy is growing faster than it has in more than five years, and is now leading the nation in economic growth, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirmed today.
In a great result for Victorians, state final demand growth over the year to December 2015 year was 4.6 per cent, nearly double the 2014 result of 2.4 per cent.
The nearest state was NSW with 3.4 per cent for the corresponding period, while the national figure was 1.1 per cent.
The story was same for the December 2015 quarter, with Victoria's growth of 1.2 per cent for the quarter the highest in Australia.
Growth was broad-based, with strong growth in household consumption and dwelling investment.
Household consumption was up 1.0 per cent over the quarter – the equal highest of all states – and up 3.4 per cent over the year. Quarterly gains were led by recreation and culture, beverages and food.
The strong result is confirmation that the Andrews Labor Government is restoring confidence to the Victorian economy after years of neglect.
The result builds on a series of key economic indicators - including consumer confidence and retail spending – that underline the strength of Victoria’s economy.
Only yesterday, the ABS also reported that in 2015, Victoria exported more than $43 billion worth of goods and services in 2015 - the highest in at least four years.
The ABS figures showed Victoria's economy is continuing to surge with goods and services exports totalling $11.1 billion in the December quarter alone, with particularly strong results in tourism and education.
State final demand is the total amount of goods and services used in the economy by household consumption, business investment, dwelling investment and government expenditure.
Quotes attributable to the Treasurer Tim Pallas
“This is a great result for the Victorian people – we’re achieving sustained economic growth and that means more jobs.”
“We promised Victorians that after four years of neglect we’d get the state moving again, and this is further confirmation that we are delivering on that promise – with economic growth outstripping the rest of the country.”
“These figures follow a surge in exports, and firmly positions Victoria as one of the leading economies in the nation.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020