Commsec’s quarterly State of the States again lists Victoria as the best-performing economy, followed by Tasmania, New South Wales and Canberra.

Queesland is in fifth spot, followed by SA, but the report says there is “little to separate the two states”.

Western Australia ranked seventh, with the Northern Territory last.

The report measured latest figures across eight key indicators – economic growth, retail spending, equipment investment, unemployment, construction work done, population growth, housing finance and dwelling commencements – across the September quarter, and compared them with decade averages.

Commsec economists ranked South Australia’s third in relative population growth with an 0.3 per cent increase, while its annual population growth of 0.87 per cent was the fastest rate in four years.

SA’s economic activity for the September quarter was up 15.9 per cent across its decade average, but its nominal annual 1.3 per cent growth rate was the nation’s lowest.

The state came fourth on construction work done with 8 per cent above the decade average, but down 5.4 per cent in the past year.

While Canberra had the strongest jobs market, SA’s employment rate was growing by just a 0.2 per cent annually.

The state’s unemployment rate was 4.0 per cent above the decade average, with the trend jobless rate rising for the past 15 months to a 30-month high in October.

Source: CommSec State of the States report

SA’s trend housing finance figures were up 19 per cent on the decade average, but actual dwelling starts were down 9.3 per cent, while house prices had dropped 0.1 per cent in the past year.

The state’s spending was up 8.5 per cent on the decade average and equipment investment was up 1.5 per cent, but dropped by 5.1 per cent in the past year.

Source: CommSec State of the States report

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