Comm Sec and Australia

South Australia Tasmania: Only Tasmania trailed Queensland for economic growth, which is down 1.7 per cent compared to a year ago, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation. While ranked third in Australia for dwelling starts, Queensland came in at the bottom for construction work, with work completed almost 17 per cent below the decade average. Comm Sec has released its quarterly data, which indicated tourism was doing well, but mining and engineering construction were soft. Comm Sec State of the States rankings:New South Wales Victoria Australian Capital Territory Northern Australia Tasmania, South Australia "Queensland remains mid-ranked across economies just above Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania," Comm Sec chief economist Craig James said. "Encouragingly, the lower Australian dollar will support agricultural exports and more importantly the tourism sector in coming months." Overall, the report said the economic weakness linked to the end of the mining construction boom continued to weigh on Australia resource-rich states, but both New South Wales and Victoria remained strong. About 64 per cent of businesses expected to keep employment levels steady until June. A report by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland on small businesses, showed confidence in the state economy improved in the March quarter, fuelled partly by the low Australian dollar, good weather and low petrol prices. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.