The Queensland locations with the largest potential for employment growth

GUEST OBSERVATION

In our opinion, the single biggest driver of property markets is employment.

Australia was once renowned for its farming and ‘making stuff’. In 1985-86, agriculture and manufacturing represented 8.1% and 12.2% of total employment respectively in Queensland, whereas these industries now only represent 2.4% and 7.7% of all jobs.

Mining is a major revenue generator for government and business coffers, although it is not a big direct employer. Mining jobs have grown from 1.9% to 3.4% since 1985-86.

The biggest employers are tourism (419,100 Queenslanders are currently employed in retail trade and accommodation), health care (282,600), construction (230,700), manufacturing (178,500), and education (176,400).

The industries with the biggest employment growth since 1985-86 are health care (from 8.0% to 12.1%) and white collar professional services (3.8% to 7.1%).

Casting our mind to Australia’s core assets and the role which this country plays in the Asian Century, we believe that the industries with the largest potential for employment growth are:

• Tourism (retail trade and accommodation)
• Education (international students)
• Construction (hotels, apartments, infrastructure, resorts, ports)
• Health care (our aging population)

Australian towns and cities which have a strong presence in these industry sectors will have increasingly high demand for accommodation.

Specific to the state of Queensland, locations with these industry drivers include: 

Simon Pressley is managing director of Propertyology, a full-time property market analyst, accredited property investment adviser, and Australia’s (REIA) Buyer’s Agent of the Year (2012+2013+2014).