Despite the bad economic news coming out of the US (i.e. the potential for a double-dip recession), and the ongoing  troubles in Europe, Queensland Treasury, rightly in my view, remains optimistic about Queensland’s economic prospects in its latest Queensland Economic Review released on Friday:

Looking ahead, jobs growth is expected to strengthen later in 2011, as agricultural employment recovers and growth in business investment, led by resource sector activity, gains momentum. The ABS Job Vacancies series for Queensland recorded the strongest growth of any state over the year to June quarter 2011.

The Review highlights our two-speed/patchwork economy:

Jobs growth has been very industry specific, with professional, scientific and technical services (which includes roles such as scientific research, engineering design and consulting, and legal and accounting services), along with mining and exploration driving employment growth over the year to June quarter 2011. This likely reflects strong demand for labour related to resource sector investment activity. In contrast, there were falls in employment in the agriculture, discretionary retailing, public administration and manufacturing sectors.

The Review also has an informative chart on building approvals illustrating the plight of Queensland’s building industry at the moment: