Report reveals mining downturn impact in central Qld
By Paul Robinson
Posted
A new report commissioned by the Australian Local Government Association indicates the gas industry is growing in central Queensland as coal mining declines.
The figures in the State of the Regions demonstrate how the resources downturn has started to bite in regional communities.
Up to 20,000 jobs have been lost in the Bowen Basin since coal prices collapsed.
The report shows wages and house prices have fallen across the region over the past two years and unemployment has reached 7.2 per cent this year, up from 5.8 per cent in 2011.
Central Queensland’s contribution to the nation’s GDP has fallen to less than 1 per cent, after peaking at 2.8 per cent.
Population growth has also declined from nearly 2.5 per cent at the height of the boom to just 0.1 per cent in the past two years.
As the coal industry was growing, wages increased by more than 4 per cent but since 2014, average wages in the region have fallen.
The report said coal seam gas was growing as coal mining declined.
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