Looking at the data in Queensland Treasury’s latest briefing on regional employment, it appears that the bulk of jobs growth that is occurring in Queensland is occurring in the South-East, particularly on the Gold Coast, and many parts of regional Queensland have lost jobs. No doubt many regional job losses have been associated with the drought and the end of the mining boom. Overall, regional Queensland (outside of SEQ) is subtracting from State employment growth (see chart below).
The job losses in regional Queensland have meant a continuation of the long-term trend of a declining share of total employment in the rest of Queensland outside of SEQ, down from around 35 per cent fifteen years ago to around 30 per cent now. Cairns-based blogger Mark Beath has noted that regional Queensland failed “to make ground even in an historic resources boom.” See his post:
Queensland Economy Watch 