Treasurer Matt Kean has announced a revised Budget deficit for the year of $19.5 billion, however the Budget is forecast to return to surplus by 2024/25.
“Business confidence is returning in NSW which is the economic powerhouse of the nation,” said Business NSW Chief Executive Daniel Hunter.
“NSW is well placed to capitalise on the bounce back from COVID as investment returns to pre pandemic levels,” Mr Hunter said.
The revised forecast comes on the same day that Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg released the national mid-year figures. The unemployment rate fell by 0.6 percentage points to 4.6 per cent in November, reversing the similar sized increase in October. Unemployment fell by 69,000 people, following an increase of 81,000 in October, as people returned to work.
“What’s important to note in the national figures is that the NSW business support package (established after the abolition of JobKeeper) kept workers in their roles and meant they could return to work immediately after lockdown ended,” Mr Hunter said.
“Without that support there’s no doubt the unemployment figure in NSW would be much higher than the 4.6% announced today, which shows that strong planning and execution during the height of the crisis has prevented much further economic impacts.
“However, it is concerning that certain parts of NSW still have higher than average youth under-participation, and Business NSW is concentrating our efforts around increased youth engagement, training and mentoring,” Mr Hunter said.
