SGS produces seasonally adjusted statistics based on data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to provide an insight into the labour market of each major capital city.
The past year has seen over 90 per cent of all the new jobs in Australia (60,200 jobs) being created in Perth (56,200 jobs). Over the same period Brisbane shed almost 11,000 jobs.
SGS Principal Terry Rawnsley said that this highlights the stark contrast facing the capital cities of the two resource rich states.
"Two years ago, Brisbane had 145,000 more jobs than Perth. On current trends, Perth could overtake Brisbane in terms of employment by the end of 2013.
At 6.4 per cent, the unemployment rate in Brisbane is one percentage point higher than the national average of 5.4 per cent. Perth has an unemployment rate of 3.8 per cent.
During the past year Sydney (30,500) and Melbourne (14,400) continue to add jobs, but at modest levels.
"The Sydney labour market appears more buoyant than Melbourne over the past year. There would appear to be a broader range of industries adding staff in Sydney while Melbourne growth is mostly coming from the Professional services industry. Both cities have seen falls in the participation rate which reflects people's lack of confidence in finding employment.
Download 'Major Cities Labour Force', seasonally adjusted statistics for September 2012
Media note:
• Please attribute SGS Economics and Planning (or SGS) as the source of this information.
• For further information please contact Terry Rawnsley on 8616 0331 or via email