SYDNEY, July 25 (Xinhua) -- A new "State of the States" report from Australia's largest retail bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), has revealed that for the first time in over two years the Australian state of Victoria has taken the number one spot for economic performance.
The quarterly report released Monday gave an economic snapshot of Australia's states and territories based on a variety of metrics including unemployment levels, population growth, economic growth, retail spending, and construction rates.
In the three months to June unemployment in Victoria boasted the strongest job market as unemployment reached 3.2 percent, below the national average of 3.5 percent.
It also saw the strongest increase in retail spending at 18.5 percent, several points above other frontrunners: Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and New South Wales.
CBA Chief Economist for CommSec Craig James said the report showed that all states were performing well despite challenging times, but Victoria was able to pull ahead on a few key indicators.
"Victoria leads the way on two of the eight economic indicators. But showing how even the rankings are, the ACT and South Australia also each lead other economies on two of the eight indicators," said James.
In the previous nine reports, Australia's island state of Tasmania has come out on top. The over two-year run was attributed in part to the island's insular economy, which rendered it less impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as it closed its borders to states facing outbreaks.
Since national borders opened up between late 2021 and early 2022, the economic footing has evened out.
"In terms of future economic performance, much will depend on how economies are affected by growing COVID-19 case numbers and also how they respond to a period of rising interest rates," James added. ■