WA Economic Profile for February 2018

Main updates this month

Labour market

• Western Australia’s total employment rose 2 per cent (24,276) through the year to January 2018, with a rise in full-time employment (up 1 per cent or 11,829) and part‑time employment (up 3 per cent or 12,447).
• Western Australia’s unemployment rate of 5.7 per cent in January 2018 was unchanged from the previous month and below the 6.4 per cent a year ago.
• Average annual adult full-time total earnings in Western Australia rose 1.5 per cent to $94,890 in 2017.
• Western Australia’s wage price index rose 1.5 per cent in 2017, below annual average growth of 3.1% over the past ten years, and below Australia’s wages growth of 2.1% in 2017.

Other

• The value of Western Australia’s merchandise exports rose 16 per cent to $123.2 billion in 2017.
• In the December quarter 2017, approvals rose for residential building (up 3 per cent to $1.5 billion) and non-residential building (up 14 per cent to $1.3 billion) in Western Australia.    

 

The latest WA Economic Profile will be available on the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation’s website soon.