Economic report explores mining projects continued effect

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Created on Thursday, 15 March 2012 14:23

Written by Editorial staff

While the rise in activity from the increasing number of resource projects around the country has had a positive impact on a number of key societal factors, the actual figures have been hard to pin down.

In many cases this is because the relationship between corporate expenditure and social benefits are not always immediately apparent - with financial decisions not always made in accordance with higher economic principles.

However, a new report from a leading financial institution on the state of market conditions around the world has given a lot of space to the topic of mining and how it is expanding the local employment options.

The paper - titled Westpac Market Insights March 2012 - notes that in previous years Australia has been subject to what it calls "sub-trend growth", where the overall positive outcomes have still paled in comparison with what local efforts are capable of producing.

It explains that market conditions are starting to gear up in 2012 "on the back of the ever-impressive mining project build-out" that extends to a number of surrounding industries.

The report indicates that the local economy has enjoyed an 80 per cent increase since 2010 in spending in this sector, mainly supported by "a wave of investment in the gas sector", with capital expenditure reaching volumes of up to $18.8 billion in the last three months of 2011.

From there the continued expansion of spending efforts will begin to have an influence on the financial conditions across the country - most noticeably the strong Australian dollar and its associated impact on foreign trade.

While the local currency is worth comparatively more, it gives import businesses an edge in terms of purchasing power - however, firms involved in exporting or international service provision may be hit with a slowdown in demand.

Combined with the cyclical nature of other commercial markets, these factors mean that many industries will be given the opportunity to expand their offerings - both in Australia and overseas.

While the nature of the work may differ, skilled employees will be brought into high demand - with competition heating up to attract and maintain the best and brightest in order to deliver better results to stakeholders.

For many firms the answer may lie in the use of migration visas to access international hiring options for skilled workers.

And as noted previously, the experience enjoyed in Australia by these employees can lead them to investigate the prospects of bringing their families over for the duration of their stay - or even the use of a permanent residency application.