Category Archives: Mining

Qld’s economic future bright if we look beyond short-term

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I agree with Deloitte’s analysis that Queensland’s medium to long-term economic outlook is strong, as reported at the Brisbane Times website this morning (Queensland’s economic future rests on five ‘super wave’ industries): The combined economic power of five “super wave” … Continue reading →

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More on the mining slowdown

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I posted last week on how the new ABS labour force data show a slowing in the growth rate of mining employment, but no decline in employment yet, as one might have expected based on reports of job losses at … Continue reading →

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Mining employment in Qld continues to grow, but at slower rate

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Employment in the Queensland mining sector still appears to be growing, although at a slower rate, according to the detailed quarterly data released today (see chart below). This suggests the concerns raised earlier in the year by some commentators over … Continue reading →

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Resources sector investment hasn’t and won’t fall off cliff

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday’s ABS capital expenditure data show just how significant resources sector investment has been to the Queensland economy over the last few years, and how the manufacturing sector has been affected by the high exchange rate (see chart below). While … Continue reading →

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Good news on Qld coal exports and tourism

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The Queensland Transport Minister Scott Emerson released some encouraging figures on coal exports yesterday, which I’ve charted below (Ports back to pre-GFC coal volumes): In part, the strong growth rates in the chart above reflect the coal industry recovering from … Continue reading →

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Road trip to Roma

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I returned to Brisbane this morning, after a road trip to Roma, and I’m much less worried about the Queensland economy than I was at the end of last week when I saw the Federal Treasury’s revised national forecasts in … Continue reading →

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Largest unemployment rate increases over 2012-13 in metro Brisbane and Central Qld

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Gene Tunny

I’ve mapped the changes in regional unemployment rates over 2012-13 (based on Queensland Treasury’s briefing on yesterday’s ABS data) in the maps below. The largest increases in the unemployment rate are in metropolitan Brisbane, related in part to public service … Continue reading →

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Don’t read too much into one month’s unemployment figures – Qld data pretty volatile

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Today’s unemployment figures from the ABS confirm a lacklustre economic outlook for Queensland over 2013-14 as the resources sector slows down, but I think it’s too early to conclude we’re heading for anything worse than expected. That is, based on … Continue reading →

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Slowdown in Qld mining sector jobs growth, but no slump like in WA yet

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Gene Tunny

MacroBusiness had a good post the other day (Where are the job gains and losses?) based on the detailed quarterly ABS labour force data released on Thursday. MacroBusiness’s charts show very slow growth in mining employment in Queensland and a … Continue reading →

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Qld defies national trend in capital spending – Qld resources sector investment hasn’t peaked yet

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Gene Tunny

Consistent with yesterday’s data on construction activity (see my post from this morning), ABS data released today show private sector capital spending in Queensland has not yet fallen from a peak, as national capital spending has due to a drop … Continue reading →

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