March quarter building approvals figures released by the ABS today show that the residential building industry, no doubt encouraged by very low interest rates,  will help the economy adjust to the end of the mining boom (see the Queensland data charted above). There appears to be a solid upward trend, due to strong recent approval numbers for apartments and townhouses. While I expect the Queensland economy will remain sluggish for the remainder of 2015, positive trends such as this mean that (hopefully) unemployment should not increase from where it is now.

For national coverage see the HIA’s media release Dwelling Approvals March to New Record.