The latest Commsec State of the States quarterly update has revealed that Tasmania is now the best-performing economy, with the ACT climbing into second place, following Victoria’s fall in recent months.
However, despite going into a second lockdown, Victoria has remained above the other big state economies on the east coast, beating NSW and Queensland on economic performance.
Every quarter, CommSec measures the performance of the states through eight key indicators – economic growth, retail spending, equipment investment, unemployment, construction work, population growth, housing finance and dwelling commencements.
For the first time, Tasmania has topped the rankings for the third consecutive quarter, buoyed by new home building and demand for mortgages.
The Apple Isle now leads rankings on five of the eight indicators assessed. In the previous survey, three months ago, Tasmania took top spot from Victoria after sharing the mantle of top-performing economy in the April report.
The second place ranking for the ACT is its highest ranking in just over three years, while the third place ranking for Victoria is its lowest in three years.
CommSec chief economist Craig James noted: “The big improvers over the past quarter were the ACT, South Australia and Western Australia. The biggest losers were Victoria, NSW and Queensland.”
“Based on the latest economic data readings, Victoria has potential to slip further down the performance rankings while Tasmania and the ACT consolidate positions in the top two spots,” Mr James said.
Coming in just off the podium was South Australia and NSW, which tied for fourth place.
Queensland and Western Australia came in joint sixth place, with the Northern Territory ranking eighth.
“The other economy with momentum on its side at present is Western Australia, benefitting from faster population growth, solid mining activity and success at suppressing coronavirus cases.”
The economist noted states performance on the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have a greater impact on their rankings in future studies.
“The coronavirus crisis is causing mixed operating conditions across industries and across states and territories. A key factor driving the relative success in economic performance has been the relative success in suppressing the virus,” Mr James concluded.
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