Tasmania's economy is outgrowing the nation with State Final Demand data released today.
The latest ABS figures show Tasmania experienced strong growth of 5.5% in the September quarter as we recover and rebuild from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the highest state final demand quarterly growth seen in 18 years, in seasonally adjusted terms.
State Final Demand is a key economic indicator of the State's economic performance and importantly the September growth was driven by increased consumption of 10.6% reflecting increased confidence in our recovery.
Pleasingly, hotels, cafes and restaurants saw a massive increase of 86.1% in spending reflecting the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, and Government stimulus programs, including our “Make Yourself At Home” travel voucher scheme.
Supporting demand state-wide, Government investment grew 4.5% in the quarter, the largest increase of any state, as we moved quickly to stimulate our economy with our Construction Blitz announced in June that brought forward funding and rolled out screwdriver and paint-brush ready projects.
The ABS also noted that there was a 36.2% rise in health, reflecting the return of elective health services.
Despite the Opposition’s relentless negativity and their focus on recession and talking our economy down, this data confirms that Tasmania is not in recession and never has been in 2020 which has been a very challenging time for economies around the world.
This data follows recent reports that Tasmania was one of just two states to see economic growth in the 2019-20 financial year, despite the pandemic, providing a strong foundation for our recovery. And it follows recent economic reports, including by NAB, Sensis, ANZ and CommSec which confirm that our economic performance is nation-leading, we have the best conditions for business, our businesses are some of the most confident in the nation, and our economy is accelerating as we rebuild a stronger Tasmania together.
Importantly the steps the Tasmanian Government has taken, including with our nation-leading $1 billion economic and social support has helped to stimulate the economy. The 2020-21 Budget continues to provide the certainty and confidence our businesses and community needs to create jobs and rebuild a stronger Tasmania.