Tasmania has the fourth strongest economy among the eight states and territories, behind only New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT.
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That is according to analyst CommSec’s latest quarterly State of the States report.
“Tasmania is in fourth spot, with a lift in population growth driving new home construction and business investment,” the report said.
CommSec said there was a gap behind Tasmania to South Australia and Queensland, with Western Australia and the Northern Territory trailing them.
The biggest change for Tasmania was a drop from third to fifth on housing starts, CommSec said.
The report measures states and territories on eight measures - economic growth, retail spending, equipment investing, unemployment, construction work done, population growth, housing finance and dwellling starts - comparing them with their “normal” performance.
Tasmania was ranked first on relative population growth (relative to its normal performance) and business investment, and second for housing finance.
It exceeded national average growth rates for six of the eight measures.
CommSec said Tasmania’s 1.09 per cent annual population growth rate was 90 per cent above its decade average.
Tasmania’s annual growth in housing finance commitments of 10.2 per cent was nearly three times the rate of the next strongest jurisdiction.
The state’s level of housing finance commitments was 22 per cent ahead of its decade average.
Equipment investment in the state was 35.7 per cent ahead of the decade average, easily leading second-placed New South Wales (9.9 per cent).
Tasmania’s unemployment rate was below its decade average.
The report also said Tasmania had the strongest wages growth in the year to September, at 2.6 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ wage price index.
However, Hobart inflation increased by 2.7 per cent in the year to September.
That was also the nation’s highest increase.
Hobart inflation is the best available measure for Tasmanian inflation.
The wage price index measures payment rates for the same work.
On another measure not counted towards the State of the States rankings, Tasmania was the second strongest jurisdiction for new vehicle registrations.
Tasmania had the strongest growth in housing prices during the year to December (8.7 per cent).
That was ahead of the ACT (3.3 per cent), while prices fell in four jurisdictions.
Prices slumped by 8.9 per cent in New South Wales and 7 per cent in Victoria.
