Employment in Toowoomba

The Toowoomba region has unemployment at a very low 2.3% according to The Chronicle*(October 14, 2009, p.7). And the other figures look good too.

2880 new jobs were created in the region in 2008 alone - and that year did not finish well elsewhere! But with commercial building approvals up by 31.5% and the gross regional product growing by 9.3% in 08 tax year it's not surprising.

The Chronicle also reported that "Median house prices went up by 5% to the March quarter while Toowoomba rentals were more profitable than those in Brisbane."

Lots of good reasons to invest or live in Toowoomba.

*The ABC also carried a story back in April 2009 about the jobs boon that Toowoomba and surrounding districts are having thanks to the energy sector.

Working in the Toowoomba/Surat region

16,000 full time jobs should be created by 2030 just a result of developing the Surat Energy Resources Province. Many of those jobs (10,400) will be flow-on employment which means they will be right throughout the region.

The Department of State Planning highlighted some areas where employment will be strong. These areas included:

• Health care
• Child care
• Education
• Drill rig operators
• Truck drivers
• Machinery and heavy equipment operators
• Diesel fitters
• Business services
• Financial planners
• Trade based skills
• Technicians

The DSD's report said that 'major training and skills development' will be needed in all these areas.
 

And that's in addition to the 81,000+ current jobs in Toowoomba alone.
 

So there are plenty of employment opportunities in and around Toowoomba, in a wide variety of fields - and it will just keep coming.

And the natural progression would be for it to flow-on further to retail and service industries.

Demographics

The Department of State Development recently commissioned a report on the Surat Basin (which covers an area from Toowoomba west to Roma). The report was designed to assist in planning to take advantage of the spectacular growth predicted for the area.

According to that report (prepared by AEC Group) the Surat region has a lower average age than the Queensland average age as a whole - and they believe this is due to the attractiveness of the area in terms of job opportunities and lifestyle.

It also found the property is still cheap in the area (relative to the rest of Queensland) and that prices have grown at a much faster rate in the past year.

Residential building construction has also outstripped Queensland as a whole in recent years.

And that's the current situation. Even more exciting growth is predicted as a result of the mining boom happening in the Surat Basin.  

Population

The Toowoomba Regional Council area has a current population of about 155,000+ people. By 2030 the TRC area alone should have 228,400 residents.

TRC is home to 13,100+ business - the majority of which are small businesses. The biggest contributor to the GRP was the manufacturing industry, with other significant contributors being Health and Community Service, Retail, and Agriculture.

Of course this is just for the TRC area and does not take into account all of the mining and agriculture happening just outside that area.

Growth

The Surat Basin is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia.  More information on the projected growth can be found here and more information on the projects and growth specific to the Toowoomba Regional Council can be found here.