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Key Baseline Statistics
KEY BASELINE STATISTICS
The following is a snapshot of statistics defining the region and more fully contained and examined in the Preliminary Regional Business Profile October 2008.
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Some key statistics about the Sunshine Coast region are:
• Total population of 323,400 at June 2009 (ABS Cat 3218.0) • Total households 116,063 (Source: ABS Census 2006) • Covers 3,127 square kilometres (1,207 square miles) • Over 200km of coastline • Approx. 31,758 businesses (Source: ABS Cat. 8165.0 December 2007)
• Unemployment rate of 6.9% (Queensland 6.6%, Australia 6.0%) at February 2010 (Source: ABS 6291.0.55.001) • Median house price of $470,000 and median unit price $369,000 (Source: Australian Property Monitors, year ended February 2010) • 3 million visitors per year • 88 Schools, 2 Universities, and 5 TAFE Colleges
Statistics that are available for the Sunshine Coast and relevant to our economic position are:
GROSS REGIONAL PRODUCT
This indicator shows the growth in economic output and is a guide to a strengthening economy. It also shows the ratio between each ANZSIC sector and collection on an annual basis builds a times series to help measure overall economic diversification.
• For the period 2006/07, Construction was the most significant contributor to the Sunshine Coast’s GRP at 16.7%. The equivalent figure for Queensland was 9.6%. • Other sectors with larger than 1% difference in output between the Sunshine Coast and Queensland were Retail Trade (+3.9%), Health and Community Services (+2.0%), Accommodation, Cafes and Restaurants (+1.7%) and Property and Business Services (+1.1%).
• Sectors with a lower than 1% difference in output between the Sunshine Coast and Queensland were Mining (-8.0%) Manufacturing (-1.9%), Communications (-1.9%), Transport and Storage (-1.6%), Agriculture (-1.6%) and Government Admin and Defence (-1.5%).
POPULATION
The region has experienced significant population growth and is forecast to continue to experience growth. Certain sectors are dependent on this population growth for their sustainability. Population growth also brings with it skills, knowledge, experience and entrepreneurship that can benefit the region.
• At June 2007 the population of the Sunshine Coast was 303,050. At the date of the 2006 Census, the population was 290,026. This was a 4.5% increase. • It is forecasted that the population of the Sunshine Coast will be 381,458 by 2016 which is a projected increase of 26% which represents an average annual increase of 8,359 persons or 2.3%. • The working age population (those between 15 and 64) in 2006 was 195,580. This gives an economically active rate of 69.8%.
SKILLS
This indicator is used to show the level of knowledge within the economy. Increasing skills levels can help demonstrate a change in the economy to the production of higher value goods and services:
• 15.2% of the population are qualified up to Certificate Level 4 level • 6.8% of the population are educated to Diploma level • 7.7% of the population are educated to Degree level, or higher
The key measures for economic development are based around employment – the actual number of employees, the split across the sectors, the split between skilled and semi skilled.
• In February 2010, there were 150,500 people employed in the region, representing a 25.8% increase since 2006 when there were 119,627 people employed. Overall Queensland saw a 18.9% increase in employment over the same period.
• Compared to Queensland, the Sunshine Coast has a higher proportion of employment in Construction (13.25% compared to 10.83%), Wholesale Trade (4.40% compared to 3.86%), Retail Trade (17.80% compared to 15.61%), Accommodation, Cafes and Restaurants (7.54% compared to 5.08%), Finance & Insurance (2.69% compared to 2.58%), Health and Community Services (11.89% compared to 9.99%) and Personal and Other Services (3.70% compared to 3.5%).
• The Sunshine Coast has lower proportions of employment in all other sectors with the highest being Agriculture (2.55% compared to 3.8%), Manufacturing (7.93% compared to 9.19%), Transport and Storage (5.31% compared to 3.35%) and Property & Business Services (9.85% compared to 11.63%).
• In terms of occupational breakdown of employment in the Sunshine Coast region in 2006, almost 12,000 jobs were knowledge workers, representing 12% of all jobs in the region, which is the same rate as Queensland. • The median household income was $35,367 in 2005/06 with an average weekly income of $885 compared to a Queensland average of $1,033.
UNEMPLOYMENT
The level of unemployment and the length of that unemployment provide key information. Also important is the economic activity rate, which shows the percentage of people in the economy that can work that are working; a higher rate is desirable.
• The economic activity rate for the Sunshine Coast in 2006 was 69.8% (195,580 persons between ages 15 and 64). The equivalent rate for Queensland was 67.5% and 65.2% for Australia (Source: ABS 6202.0).
• The participation rate for the Sunshine Coast is 60.0% (Persons aged 15+, March 2010). The equivalent rate for Queensland is 67.6% and 65.5% for Australia (Source: ABS 6202.0).
• The average length of unemployment of those receiving Job Seeker allowance on the Sunshine Coast is 16 months. • Unemployment rate of 6.9% (Queensland 6.6%, Australia 6.0%) at February 2010 (Source: ABS 6291.0.55.001).
CONFIDENCE
Business confidence is one of the few forward looking measures and shows how businesses are feeling in relation to the future. This in turn helps to see how business is feeling in relation to sales, profit, staffing levels, wages and investment decisions.
• Local Business Surveys have placed confidence at 77.0% at January 2010 with the previous quarters of September, June and April being 84.5%, 79.7% and 73% respectively. • The comparison rate for Queensland is 53% at May 2009.
PERSONAL PROPERTY
One of the key sectors in this economy is construction. Measuring the level of house prices and rents also helps show rates of affordability.
• The median price for a 3 bedroom house as at September 2009 on the Sunshine Coast is $470,000. This compares to $491,000 for Brisbane and $405,000 for Queensland. • The median unit and flat price as at September 2009 on the Sunshine Coast is $360,000. This compares to $385,000 for Brisbane and $350,000 for Queensland.
• The median weekly rents at December 2009 were:
1 Bedroom Flat/Unit $2302 Bedroom Flat/Unit $2903 Bedroom Flat/Unit $3502 Bedroom Townhouse $3103 Bedroom Townhouse $3502 Bedroom House $3003 Bedroom House $3604 Bedroom House $425
• Urban Centre Median rent as at September 2009 quarter was $350 for the Sunshine Coast and $335 for Queensland • In terms of housing tenure, the Sunshine Coast has a similar structure to Queensland, with 62.9% of houses owner-occupied, and 28.4% rented.
BUSINESS PROPERTY
One of the key investment decisions for a business is the level of land and premises costs in relation to other locations. One of the factors that determine these costs is the volume of land immediately available for occupation. A number of the measures we intend to monitor are presently not collected and will need some research. These include:
• The average land price per hectare on the Sunshine Coast. • The average retail rent. • The total amount of employment land in hectares. Presently this is centred around the industrial estates of Centra Park, Coolum and Sippy Downs Business and Technology Park, the Sunshine Coast Industrial Park at Caloundra, Yandina Industrial Estate, Noosa Business Park, Cooroy Carpenters Lane and Nandroya Land Developments sites and the principal retail centres of Noosa Maroochydore and Caloundra.
TOURISM
Another key sector that helps drive growth in the other connected sectors such as retail. The collection of data around visitor numbers, length of stay and expenditure shows how the industry is performing. As tourism is not defined as an ANZSIC code, separate research is undertaken to clearly define the indicators.
• In the year ended December 2009, there were 2,680,000 domestic overnight visitors to the Sunshine Coast (17% of the 15,729,000 total domestic overnight visitors to Queensland); of those, 64% were holiday visitors (1,712,000).
• The average length of stay on the Sunshine Coast for all domestic overnight visitors was 4.3 nights in the year ended December 2009, up from 3.9 nights.
• In the year ended December 2009, there were 277,000 international visitors to the Sunshine Coast (14% of the 1,968,000 total international visitors to Queensland). Of those, 79.1% were holiday visitors (219,000).
• International visitors stayed for an average of 9.2 nights on the Sunshine Coast in the year ended December 2009. • The Sunshine Coast’s stock of hotel, motel, guest house, and serviced apartment guest rooms totalled 6,703 as at September 2009.
• Domestic overnight visitor expenditure to the Sunshine Coast, (including airfares and long distance transport costs) was $1.806 billion for the year end December 2009.
BUSINESS GROWTH
New companies present new opportunities for wealth and job creation as well as add to the supply chain. Identifying this indicator also helps show the rate of entrepreneurship in the economy and adds to the understanding of the state of the economy by the rate of new business formations and business failures.
• There were 31.758 businesses on the Sunshine Coast at June 2007.
• The major growth sectors of the economy over the past 5 years have been Construction (+188%), Finance and Insurance (+156%), Health and Community Services (+188%), Property and Business Services (+103%) and Manufacturing (+74%).
• 85.3% of businesses on the Sunshine Coast have less than 5 employees. This compares to a Queensland rate of 85.6% and an Australian rate of 84.8%.
• The top 50 businesses employ 16.8% whilst the top 100 employ 23.9%.
A number of measures we intend to collect require more research and these are:
• Business creation rates • The sectors seeing the highest number of business start ups • The failure rate of companies • The self employment rate
