FIRST FOR NSW – NSW RECORDS STRONGEST ANNUAL DEMAND GROWTH FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE QUARTERS

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird today said the NSW economy had recorded the strongest annual growth in final demand of all the states for two consecutive quarters, in what was a first for NSW.

The ABS National Accounts released today show NSW State Final Demand grew 0.6 per cent in the December quarter. Over the past year, demand growth in NSW increased by 2.5 per cent. This was the strongest growth of all the states on a quarterly and annual basis and pushes NSW above the national average.

“Today’s figures show NSW is back on top, as the best performing economy in the country on both a quarterly and annual basis,” said Mr Baird.

“For the first time since data collection began, NSW has posted the strongest demand growth on a yearly basis of all the states for two consecutive quarters and is well above the national average.

“Clearly, ongoing national economic uncertainty remains a challenge and we note that economic growth remains below trend across the country. Today’s result shows NSW’s relative strength in this uncertain environment.”

Mr Baird said NSW’s result was driven by strong (above trend) growth in consumer consumption and a surge in government investment.

“While we note the modest fall in housing investment in the December quarter, the good news is that the significant increase in new housing construction across the state has contributed to strong annual growth in today’s figures. We expect that the growing number of finance and building approvals, together with low interest rates, will further boost growth over the coming year.

“Economic challenges remain, as the nation transitions from the mining boom, but the NSW economy remains in a relatively strong position and we continue to remain optimistic about the year ahead,” Mr Baird said.

The NSW economy is performing markedly better on a number of measures including:

Business confidence – NSW’s business confidence is the second strongest of all the States and above the decade average[i]
· Jobs – an additional 8,400 jobs were created in NSW in January. NSW has the second lowest unemployment rate in the nation after Western Australia. Under the NSW Government, 91,000 more jobs have been created in NSW.

Housing – 47,987 new dwellings were approved in NSW in the 12 months to January 2014.