Mining Grows at Staggering 12% A Year, Rest of Aussie Economy Drags at 1%

Australia's mining sector continues to gallop, while the rest of the economy trails behind.

Proof of the existence of the three-speed economy is the staggering 12 per cent growth rate of the mining industry versus 1 per cent for the rest. More proof of this was presented by Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Deputy Governor Philip Lowe, who said mining and related industries comprise 16 to 17 per cent of the Aussie economy and account for 8 per cent of all jobs.

Mr Lowe said Tuesday at a Davos Connection forum in Melbourne that according to the RBA analysis mining investments impact construction activity in several industries such as business services, manufacturing, transport and wholesale trading.

Thus, demand for more mining sector works would not be limited to frontline employees who are involved in the extraction and processing of natural resources, but would include those engaged in accounting, construction, legal, project management and human resources tasks.

"It would not be surprising if, over the next few years, growth in mining-related employment, broadly defined, was as high as one-half of the total growth in the Australian workforce," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Mr Lowe.

He said non-mining employment must keep pace by growing faster by at least 1 per cent a year.

In terms of area, Mr Lowe said because of the concentration of the mining industry in Western Australia, that state would lead Australia in job creation in the next few years. WA enjoys the lowest unemployment rate of 3.8 per cent against the national joblessness rate of 4.9 per cent.