WA Economic Profile for August 2018

Main updates this month

Labour market

• Western Australia’s total employment rose 1 per cent (11,799) through the year to July 2018, with a rise in full-time employment (up 0.1 per cent or 1,219) and part-time employment (up 3 per cent or 10,580).
• Western Australia’s unemployment rate of 6.0 per cent in July 2018 was below the 6.1 per cent in the previous month, but above the 5.4 per cent a year ago.
• Western Australia’s wage price index rose 1.5 per cent in 2017-18, below annual average growth of 2.9 per cent over the past ten years.

Other

• The value of the Western Australia’s merchandise exports rose 8 per cent to $129.7 billion in 2017-18.
• New capital expenditure in Western Australia’s mining industry fell 14 per cent to $19.1 billion in 2017-18, while new capital expenditure in other industries rose 17 per cent to $8.0 billion.
• Residential building approvals in Western Australia rose 23 per cent to $1.6 billion in the June quarter 2018.

 

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