Two major economic reports have warned South Australia’s economic pain is set to continue for the foreseeable future, due in part to the impending closure of the local car manufacturing industry.
The October quarterly state of states report from CommSec and Business Outlook report from Deloitte Access Economics both ranked South Australia in the third-tier of state economies, along with the ACT and Tasmania.
Deloitte’s report in particular paints the most damning picture for South Australia, describing the economy as being in the “slow lane,” with “more pain on the horizon as it stares the closure of car manufacturing in the face.”
Other causes for concern include speculation about the loss of South Australia’s submarine defence contracts and conservative retail spending, for which the State is ranked last nationally.
Interestingly, SA’s population growth rate has been viewed as one of the State’s few positive indicators according to the CommSec report.
However Migration Solutions Managing Director, Mark Glazbrook, points out that this is due to a reduced national population growth rate, in which South Australia has remained steady, rather than due to any real improvement.
“The statistics that suggest South Australia’s population growth is improving have to be taken with a pinch of salt, as our population growth rate really hasn’t improved from our recent average of 0.9, which is approximately half the national average.”
“The downwards trend of South Australia’s share of the national population continues to decline, and is something we need to arrest in order to stimulate economic growth and job creation in South Australia.”
