ECONOMIC TURNAROUND ON THE CARDS FOR WA

50,000 more West Australians are employed now compared to 12 months ago, signifying a stunning turnaround in fortunes for job seekers.

Principal of Smartline Rockingham, Justin Smith, remarked that the momentum is heading in the right direction:

“We saw 6,100 jobs added in December alone, even at a time of year when job advertisements and vacancies tend to slow down,” Smith said.

WA is now less merely 50,000 jobs short of peak employment volumes experienced during the peak boom year of 2012.

“What we see after a positive period of job growth is that wage growth tends to follow 12 months later. In 2018, we expect wages to improve and salary increases to jump above the rate of inflation across multiple sectors,” he said.

So what does that mean for the property market? With job security and wage growth, demand for property generally follows closely behind. As people recognise the new employment opportunities in a growth state, they will move in and further contribute to demand.

“There’s no doubt the outlook for the market is positive. Summer is normally a good time for mortgage applications, with a peak just before Christmas,’ Smith said.

“However, this year is different. We expect the volume of sales and the value of properties sold to grow steadily throughout 2018.”

References:

WA jobs boost as economy improves, Nick Evans, The West Australian, 19/1/2018