News Articles for CommSec

WA has again claimed the top spot in the CommBank State of the States report, the fifth consecutive quarter it has been named the nation's best performing economy.

WA tightened its grip as the nation's top-performing economy, leading CommSec's State of the States report for the third time in a row.

WA has maintained its spot at the top of the CommSec State of the States report for the second quarter running, ranking first in five of eight economic indicators.

Western Australia has recorded the strongest job market and population growth nationally after the state recently surpassed 3 million people, according to CommSec's latest report.

Western Australia's unemployment rate remains below the national average, which has slightly risen in June, the Australian Bureau of Statistics found.

The results of a new survey could blunt other states' attacks on WA's GST share.

While economic pain is on the way for WA businesses, the state's relative strengths may spare it the worst of a downturn.

Rising interest rates and economic pressure have failed to dent WA's jobless rate, steady at 3.5 per cent, while national data hit a fresh record.

Wages are tracking upwards, growing by 3.1 per cent in the year to September, but still failing to keep up with the rising cost of living.

The cash rate has been hiked for the seventh consecutive month, up 25 basis points to be 2.85 per cent, as the Reserve Bank predicts inflation will hit 8 per cent this year.

Building approvals have fallen dramatically in WA, with the number of new dwellings sanctioned down 37 per cent in July.

There's hope that families and small businesses could soon get a reprieve from high petrol prices, with Commsec predicting a 19 cent per litre drop ahead.

The national unemployment rate is set to fall further to 3.8 per cent when new labour force figures are released on Thursday.

WA has been among the most significant beneficiaries of what is being dubbed the “pandemic baby boom”, recording the second strongest population growth in the country.

Confidence has dropped to its lowest level since mid-August 2020 as cost of living pressures mount, not helped by an expected further rise in interest rates.

The unemployment rate in WA has fallen to 2.9 per cent in April, amid an environment of soaring inflation.

The unemployment rate among women in Western Australia is just 3 per cent, the lowest since 2008, with the state posting a sharp improvement in the jobless rate in March.

Households are in a strong enough position to handle a rise in interest rates, Josh Frydenberg says, as the RBA appears to be losing patience with inflation.

Retail sales took a battering in Western Australia in February, down 2.9 per cent.

The national unemployment rate is now lower than Western Australia's, with a rate of 4 per cent across the country slightly less than 4.1 per cent out west.

Retail sales fell 3.5 per cent in Western Australia in December, amid a soft month across the nation as Omicron hit.

The state government will have a chance to alleviate rising cost and wage pressure for small businesses in its upcoming budget.

Retail turnover has taken its largest dive for the year, falling 2.7 per cent in July.

While Western Australia has recorded solid growth in residential property values in recent months, it's still yet to catch up to its east coast counterparts.

Western Australia's population grew by 3,569 people in the September quarter, while Australia had its first population drop in a century.

Relatively high confidence among shoppers and the continued drop in the unemployment rate saw modest retail spending growth in the first few weeks of 2021.

Prices in Perth deflated 1 per cent in the December quarter, thanks to the government's electricity credit, but there's an underlying upward pressure.

Household spending rocketed up 11.7 per cent in WA in the September quarter, while national GDP grew 3.3 per cent.

West Aussies had a huge boost in purchasing power in the year to June, and the state's economy grew despite a small national drop.

More Western Australians are employed than at any time since March, with 15,300 jobs created in October as the state recovers from the COVID-19 crash.

Australia is building the largest houses and apartments in the world, according to the latest data from the CommSec Home Size Trends Report.

Perth prices rose 1.8 per cent in the September quarter, the sharpest lift since June 2006, after a big fall during the COVID-19 shutdown.

More than 32,000 Western Australians found jobs in August, and the unemployment rate plunged 1.3 percentage points, as the nation posted a big improvement.

WA's domestic economy contracted 6 per cent in the June quarter, slightly better than national figures showing Australia is in recession.

Unemployment in the Mandurah region rocketed up 11.1 percentage points in five months, making it the highest in Australia.

Retail trade rebounded a record 16.3 per cent in May, following a 17.7 per cent plunge in April, amid a gradual easing of coronavirus-related restrictions during the month.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has warned a second wave of coronavirus could cost the Australian economy $80 billion over the next two years.

Western Australia's internal economy grew 0.9 per cent in the March quarter even as Australia as a whole contracted 0.3 per cent, but those numbers mostly predate the economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Australia could experience a sustained recession into the second half of 2020, new research from Bank of America predicts, while the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics offers little insight into the impact of shutdowns on unemployment in Western Australia.

Australia's economy will contract 2 per cent in the March quarter, according to ANZ, as economists weigh up the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.