Dept of Employment Small Area Labour Market data

In all the excitement (?) of the Local Government elections last month we missed the release of the Dec quarter SALM data from the Dept of Employment. The SALM data is based on a range of indicators including ABS Labour Force data for the SA4 areas, youth and Newstart allowance …read more

Regional Building Approvals data disappoints; new Conus Trend series for QLD Regions launched

Today saw the release of the regional building approvals data for Feb from the ABS. As always, this unadjusted original data can be highly volatile so we should consider instead the Conus Trends. Here we see the Trend for residential approvals in the Cassowary Coast Regional Council area static at …read more

Cassowary Coast population drops again

Today sees the release of the ABS Regional Population estimates as at mid-year 2015 and they show us a small decline in the estimated population of the Cassowary Coast Local Government area to 28,689 (from 28,694 a year earlier). Over the course of the past decade the population of the …read more

Data catch up post holidays

I’ve been away enjoying some snow in Japan so have missed the past two week’s of data since the New Year. This post is an abridged version to simply update some charts and make a few comments… Building Approvals. The November nationwide approvals numbers (seasonally adjusted) saw a big dip …read more

Dept of Employment LGA unemployment rate data

I’ve just arrived back on dry land so wanted to update the Dept of Employment Small Area Labour Market (SALM) data for the Sept quarter before the Christmas break. The SALM data is based on a range of indicators including ABS Labour Force data for the SA4 areas, youth and …read more

Building Approvals pick up in Cairns; dip in Cassowary Coast

The release of the regional Building Approvals data for Sept is a bit of a mixed bag for the area. The unadjusted ABS data is, as always, too volatile to use as a clear guide. Rather we need to focus on the Conus Trend. In Cairns (incl Port Douglas) the …read more

Cassowary Coast stars in the regional building approvals race

Today sees the release of the (unadjusted) regional building approvals data which shows the Cassowary Coast as the stand-out performer for the month of August. The ABS unadjusted original data is so wildly volatile that we really need to focus our attention on the Conus Trend series, and in doing …read more

Dept of Employment SALM data shows FNQ unemployment rates up in second quarter

After yesterday’s ABS regional jobs data (see here) showed some very modest improvement in the unemployment rate in the Cairns SA4 area (on the back of a fall in Participation rather than an improvement in jobs), today we get the Dept of Employment’s quarterly Small Area Labour Market (SALM) data …read more

Regional Building Approvals dip in Cairns but strong in Cassowary Coast

After last week’s release of slightly better than expected building approvals data at the state and national levels (see here) today saw the release of the regional data. As always the ABS regional data is presented in its original form without any seasonal adjustment so we need to consider the Conus …read more

Regional Building Approvals a mixed bag

The regional residential building approvals data for the Far North in June were a bit of a mixed bag. Data released by the ABS this morning shows a total of 59 approvals in Cairns (incl Douglas) after 68 in May; 121 in Townsville after 93 in May; and 13 in …read more

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