Bright lights industries diversifying our local economy

While it might only employ 15,378 people or 1.81% of Perth’s total population, the arts and recreation services industry has grown by more than 26% over the past seven years, making it an important part of Greater Perth’s economy. Not surprisingly, the mining industry is a still a key contributor to our economic base, employing 3.14% of the working population and has a location quotient of 1.89.

“Any industry with a location quotient of more than one is considered a propulsive industry that is significantly influencing our economic growth and change. So, despite the recent downturn, the mining and resources industry remains a very important part of our economy. The industries with the next highest location quotient were rental, hiring and real estate services, and arts and recreation services,” said Committee for Perth CEO, Marion Fulker.

“The Committee’s latest FACTBase Bulletin looks at the economic base of Greater Perth and compares it to other major Australian cities to paint a picture of how our economic base has changed over the past two Census periods and has given us a fine-grained analysis of our increasingly complex economic structure. What we’ve discovered is that our economic base is changing and there’s growing potential for other industries to diversify it even more.