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Strong Queensland

Creating a diverse economy powered by bright ideas

Queensland has one of the fastest growing economies in the nation with:

Long-term economic growth second only to Western Australia
strong employment growth
a AA+ credit rating and highly competitive tax regime.

Queensland's economy remains sound, with a strong outlook

The Queensland economy proved resilient in 2008-09, managing to expand during a year when most major western economies experienced recessions. Queensland recorded growth of 0.8%, while the rest of Australia was on 1.1%.

Despite subdued economic conditions, jobs growth in Queensland remained only slightly below average, at 2.2% in 2008-09, more than double the rate in the rest of Australia. Despite a record high participation rate and solid population growth, Queensland, for the fith year in a row, had an unemployment rate that was below the national average.

The outlook for the Queensland economy looks strong, with economic fundamentals pointing to growth picking up from mid 2010 going forward into later years.

Business investment in Queensland continues to grow strongly, more than tripling over the last eight years, to reach almost $40 billion. This is a clear indicator of the robustness of the Queensland economy and points to a strong future with sustained business investment.

Latest figures show Queensland had the second highest level of non-mining investment projects under construction or in the pipeline in the June quarter, at $93.2 billion.

The Queensland Government is set to invest $18.2 billion this financial year on infrastructure, including ports, rail, road, water, schools, public transport and hospitals.

Current and future challenges

Queensland's economy is relatively small compared to our industrial partners and we are facing increasing global competition.

To sustain Queensland's future economic growth we must continue to broaden our industries and lift the productivity of our own infrastructure and people. This will put us in the best position to capitalise on our strengths and also give us the best protection against future global or industry downturns.

The state government has already invested heavily in diversifying Queensland's economic base from our traditional strengths in mining, tourism and agriculture to future industries in aviation, health and education services, science, medical research and technology.

Research shows about 70% of our economic growth is the result of productivity improvements: using our resources in smarter ways to produce more. But we need to drive innovation across all industries and businesses, both existing and new.

Innovation improves productivity

Making smarter use of our existing resources is the key to a stronger, more enduring, environmentally responsible and globally competitive economy.

Innovation drives economic and jobs growth and gives businesses a competitive edge. It also protects our environment through creating cleaner and greener products and by employing smarter business methods.

Many Queensland businesses have already responded to the innovation challenge but this work is ongoing. As other countries strive to boost their competitive edge by lifting their investment in research and development and innovations, Queenslanders must not be left behind.