Diverse industries, population increase drive Toowoomba Region’s economic growth
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The Toowoomba Region’s diverse economy and a steady population increase over the past five years have been the major contributors to the Region’s steady economic growth, according to data contained in a report prepared for Toowoomba Regional Council.
Toowoomba Region Mayor and Economic Development Committee chair Cr Geoff McDonald said the report, Toowoomba – Economic Health Check (June 2023), prepared by .id: informed decisions), which was presented to today’s Economic Development Committee meeting (December 13, 2023), highlighted strengths across the regional economy and opportunities for continued growth.
Mayor McDonald said the report detailed the Toowoomba Region’s prosperity and resilience, particularly given the rebound from earlier drought conditions and the lingering effects of Covid-19, and more recent disruptions caused by uncertain global economic conditions and the effects of rising inflation on the Australian economy.
He said statistics in the report showed the Toowoomba Region experienced robust growth from 2021 to 2022, mostly driven by population expansion and continued employment and investment in the Region’s health, education, agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
Population increased by 1.4% per year from 2017 to 2022, above the decade average (1.2% p.a.). Toowoomba’s estimated population was 178,590 in 2021-22, representing 4.6% of South Est Queensland and 6.6% of regional Queensland’s population.
Mayor McDonald said the Toowoomba Region’s broad economy had generated $11.62 billion in Gross Regional Product (GRP) in the 2021-22 financial year. The regional economy grew by $1.1 billion between 2020 and 2022, following a slight Covid-19 influenced decline between 2018 and 2020.
“Over the past five years, the Toowoomba Region’s economy has shown consistent growth, with an annual average GRP increase of 0.8% and a corresponding 2.3% rise per annum rise in local job opportunities,” Mayor McDonald said.
“The Toowoomba Region supported an estimated 90,183 jobs in 2021-22, representing 4.2% of South East Queensland and 6.35% of regional Queensland’s economy in terms of GRP (4.5% and 7% in terms of local jobs respectively. We have seen an additional 7,492 jobs created since 2020.
“In June 2022, the unemployment rate was 5.7% in Toowoomba. The rate fell to 4.8% in December 2022, which was higher than both the South East Queensland and regional Queensland figures (3.8% and 3.6% respectively)
“The most prominent industries in terms of employment and economic contribution in the Region include, Health Care and Social Assistance, Education and Training, Retail Trade, Construction, Manufacturing, and Agriculture, followed by Forestry and Fishing. (*See figures below.)
“In another positive note, the number of new businesses entering the market in our Region has also re-bounded. In 2021 and 2022 the net new business increase was around 630 businesses per year, which was about 60% higher than pre-Covid growth in the Toowoomba Region (around 390 per year from 2016-2019). The Region recorded 16,849 local businesses in 2022.
“The increase in new businesses in Toowoomba since the outbreak of COVID-19 has been driven by Health Care and Social Assistance, Construction, Agriculture and Other Services (Repair and Maintenance, Personal, Private Household services).”
The main industry drivers for the Region’s jobs growth include: • Healthcare and social assistance, such as NDIS; • Manufacturing and construction, and • Local businesses servicing population growth.
Mayor McDonald said the report painted a bright future for the Region, with industry specialisation and emerging industries offering strong jobs growth potential alongside the traditional pillars mentioned above.
“Council is continuing to progress the Toowoomba Regional Futures program, including a new Planning Scheme and Local Government Infrastructure Plan that will shape our community vision for the Region’s strategic growth and development over the next 30 to 50 years. This work continues to align with the state government’s latest review of the Shaping SEQ Regional Plan, which sets the wider strategy and implementation for growth across South East Queensland,” Mayor McDonald said.
“Council is continuing its advocacy to the state and Commonwealth governments to ensure we receive adequate funding for the major infrastructure investment that is needed to support and enhance the liveability of our growing Region.”
Supporting points: Regional Queensland has experienced a strong recovery following Covid-19. Growth has been 7.3% above pre-covid levels compared with 6.7% in Greater Brisbane and 5.9% nationally. The annual average growth rate in regional Queensland between 2019 and 2022 was 2.4% p.a., above the pre-covid trend rate of 1.9% pa. (2008-2019).
Top four Toowoomba Region industries in 2022 (Jobs): • Health Care and Social Assistance: 17,768 or 19.7% of regional jobs; • Education and Training: 9.503 or 10.5% of regional jobs; • Retail Trade: 8181 or 9.1% of regional jobs; • Construction: 7,581 or 8.4% of regional jobs.
Top four Toowoomba Region industries in 2022 (Value Added): • Health Care and Social Assistance: $1.37 billion or 13.8% of value added in Toowoomba Region. • Manufacturing: $824 million or 8.3% value added. • Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing: $822 million or 8.3% of value added. • Construction: $808 million or 8.1% of value added: (**Figures above from NIEIR 2023)
Growth in the Toowoomba Region’s specialised manufacturing has been much stronger here than in South East Queensland and regional Queensland generally (e.g., agriculture, mining).
Mining is Toowoomba’s largest exporter, comprising 27% of the Region’s total exports and exporting 76% of its total output. • Manufacturing has a considerable regional market position, exporting 53% of its output, or 22% of the Region’s total exports. • Agriculture exported 49% of its output in 2022. • Transport and Wholesale have a strong regional market position, respectively exporting 40% and 34% of their output. • Construction, too, is very strong, including in both residential and non-residential buildings.The growth in non-residential construction is important in terms of jobs growth as it creates valuable employment floor space; a further boost to the economy when completed.
As well, there is the potential to leverage opportunities associated with many significant industry trends such as green manufacturing and major infrastructure projects.
Population and workforce growth Population growth remains strong and has been driven by domestic migration.
The main population growth sectors are predominantly people over 60 and those under 14 (and their parents). Importantly, the attraction of families with high workforce participation rates, supporting the demand for local businesses, goods and services, alleviates the aging population issues with a new workforce.
Around nine in 10 of Toowoomba’s residents live and work in the Region; locals tend not to commute to work outside our Region.
Strong labour demand has helped improve job prospects for Toowoomba’s younger workers and the Region has a relatively low level of socio-economic disadvantage compared with surrounding local government areas.
Tourism Around 97% of Toowoomba’s tourism visitors are from Australia.
Most of the daytrip visitors are from surrounding, Southern Queensland Country and Brisbane. The major attraction to Toowoomba for daytrip visitors is its regional service role where many visitors come to Toowoomba for medical, shopping and hospitality needs.
Most of Toowoomba’s domestic overnight visitors are from Queensland, which has been on a long-term uptrend since 2012. The main reason for their trips to Toowoomba is to visit friends and family members. The Region is becoming a destination for business tourism. Compared with other comparable LGAs, Toowoomba attracts a high share of both domestic and international business visitors.
The number of domestic overnight business trip visitors increased by almost 50,000 visitors in 2022 compared to 2016/17 and averaged over 200,000 visitors in the past three years, despite COVID-19 effects. Toowoomba surpasses other benchmark LGAs in terms of the proportion of international travellers visiting for business purposes. Moreover, these visitors have longer average stays in Toowoomba.
(*Data is drawn from Census – Australian Bureau of Statistics data, and other industry and government data.)