Lord Mayor S Economic Snapshot

Lord Mayor’s Economic Snapshot March 2012 KEY STATISTICS

QUICK FACTS ON BRISBANE

The latest data indicate that Brisbane’s economy continued to strengthen over the year, recording an estimated growth in 7500 jobs across the metropolitan region and increasing total employment to 1,073,500. Unemployment rates decreased from 4.6% to 4.0% for the local government area and 5.1% to 4.7% for the metropolitan region. These figures indicate continued investment into the Brisbane economy despite relatively weak global and regional economic conditions over the past 12 months. These positive results are further evidenced by a 4.6% increase in commercial construction activity over the year, delivering an estimated expenditure of $1.9 billion. This trend is set to continue with recent reports of rising commercial real estate investment trends across Australia. It is notable that in the last six months of 2011, Brisbane recorded the highest absorption of new commercial office supply among all capital city office markets in Australia. This is expected to continue in 2012, with an additional 111,000m 2 of office space coming on stream, amounting to a 4.5% increase on current supply.

Table 1: Brisbane Economic Indicators (latest data) Indicator Region (annual data unless specified) Brisbane LGA1 Brisbane SD 2 Key Facts a) Value of Brisbane’s Economy (June N/A $114 billion 2011) b) Employment (May 2012) 762,500 1,073,500 c) Unemployment Rate (Jan 2012) 4.0% 4.7% d) Population (June 2011) 1,067,279 2,043,185 Latest Release e) International Visitor Expenditure N/A $1.5 billion f) Value of Commercial Construction N/A $1.9 billion Growth Brisbane CBD Brisbane Fringe g) Office Vacancy Rate 6.2% 7.6

1 Brisbane City Council Local Government Area 2 Brisbane Statistical Division, as defined by the ABS

Source: a) Brisbane City Council estimate b, d, f) Australian Bureau of Statistics c) OESR - Population Estimates e) Department Resource, Energy Tourism – Int’l Visitors Survey g) Property Council of Australia - Office Market Report ECONOMIC UPDATE

BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL RELEASES NEW ECONOMIC PLAN

The Brisbane Economic Development Plan 2012-2031, officially released by Lord Mayor Graham Quirk on 14 February 2012, presents a new economic agenda to double the value of the Brisbane economy over the next 20 years. The actions identified in the plan implement the recommendations of the Lord Mayor’s Economic Development Steering Committee. This committee, led by Brisbane’s business community, presented its priorities in the Brisbane’s Unique Window of Opportunity report.

Brisbane’s Economic Goals for 2031  Doubling the economy to $217 billion  40% increase in per capita income to $75,000 per person  443,000 new jobs bringing the total workforce to 1.5 million

The focus of the new plan is to raise Brisbane’s global reputation; capture opportunities of the resource boom and increase links with Asia; attract the labour talent required; create a city that will attract business and workers; and provide the required leadership and engagement to ensure this occurs. It is estimated that the resource sector contributes around $25 billion to the Brisbane economy annually through the many professional services that it requires to manage its global business. Recently completed employment forecasts for Brisbane anticipate a requirement for an additional 443,000 workers by 2031. One of Brisbane’s challenges will be to attract sufficient skilled workers to meet this demand. Key actions that will increase Brisbane’s international profile and attractiveness to workers, visitors, students and investors include:  targeting resource related and service companies to set up in Brisbane  encouraging increased airline routes and connections into Brisbane  increasing the number of business events and conventions in Brisbane  establishing a Brisbane Greeters program for new visitors  using existing global networks of Brisbane businesses, Brisbane business people working overseas and students to expand awareness of Brisbane.

BRISBANE’S GLOBAL RANKINGS Financial Times FDi Magazine  recognised as a top 10 Asian city of the future Jones Lang LaSalle ‘World Winning Cities 2012 Report’  1st out of top 20 fastest growing economies of mature cities worldwide by 2020

SELECTED MAJOR CONVENTIONS IN BRISBANE 29th International Conference on Data Engineering 2013 Annual Meeting of the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society 2013 World Water Congress 2016

To increase business engagement with Asia, the Lord Mayor will continue to be an ambassador for Brisbane and its businesses by leveraging existing relationships to create new trade and investment opportunities. The plan also recognises the need for Brisbane businesses, small and large, to fully exploit the opportunities of the digital economy through the appointment of a new Chief Digital Officer. The new Chief Digital Officer will engage Brisbane businesses and identify opportunities to grow Brisbane’s digital economy. To ensure that Brisbane enhances its reputation as a city that is desirable to visit and to live in, the plan commits to building and preserving Brisbane’s lifestyle. This includes a range of actions to make the city more attractive, including expanding use of the river, developing Brisbane’s entertainment precincts and introducing foreign language signage to make it easier for visitors to find their way around the city.

Hotel accommodation has been identified as a key constraint in the city – to address this, Council has announced a three year moratorium on infrastructure charges for 4 and 5-star hotel developments and facilitation of faster commitment and approval times for major projects. SELECTED MAJOR EVENTS IN BRISBANE  The Brisbane International’ tennis tournament  Brisbane Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival  Gallery of Modern Art exhibitions  Australian Performing Arts Market 2014 A new Brisbane Business Hotline is being introduced which will provide 24/7 priority service through Council’s Contact Centre to receive and manage business enquiries. Council will also continue to engage with businesses through the Brisbane Business Network and industry engagement forums and will seek opportunities for employee exchanges with the private sector. Copies of the Brisbane Economic Development Plan 2012-31 can be found on Council’s website www.brisbane.qld.gov.au

BUSINESS NEWS

RIVER CITY LABS DIGITAL BUSINESS INCUBATOR A new not-for-profit business incubator is being established in Fortitude Valley. River City Labs will provide an ecosystem for entrepreneurial start-ups in the digital industry offering digital facilities, meeting rooms and working space where entrepreneurs can meet mentors, investors and venture capitalists. The facility aims to house up to 70 entrepreneurs and aligns with Council’s commitment under the Brisbane Economic Development Plan to develop Brisbane’s digital economy.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS IN HEALTH CONGRESS LAUNCHES AT BRISBANE EXHIBITION CENTRE The Royal Australasian College of Physicists (RACP) ‘Future Directions in Health Congress 2012’ is an annual keynote even and will attract an international audience of up to 1000 medical specialists, primarily from Australia and New Zealand, over four days in May.

LARGE TRANSPORT MANUFACTURER OPENS MILTON ENGINEERING DESIGN CENTRE Bombardier, one of the world’s largest rail transport manufacturers, has officially opened their new state-of-the-art Engineering Design Centre in Milton, Brisbane. The facility will be home to 64 engineering, professional and administrative staff and will be responsible for Bombardier Transportation Group’s designs around Australia, including trains on the metropolitan network and the rapid transit system for the Gold Coast.

$80 MILLION MALTING FACILITY ESTABLISHED IN AUSTRALIA TRADECOAST The Barrett Burston malting facility, recently established in Australia TradeCoast, will create new jobs and export opportunities through its supply of 100,000 tonnes of malt to Yatala-based breweries servicing the Asian liquor market. The food and beverage industry is a major contributor to the Brisbane economy. SEQ accounts for 75% of total Queensland food manufacturing, much of which is produced in Brisbane.

MICROSOFT OPENS INNOVATION CENTRE IN BRISBANE Microsoft has announced it will establish its first Queensland-based Innovation Centre in Brisbane. The centre, to be launched in July, is part of Microsoft’s endeavour to tap into Brisbane’s digital start-up industry through collaboration with local incubators such as River City Labs and local universities.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au or email [email protected]

Brisbane City Council Information GPO Box 1434 Brisbane Qld 4001 Printed on recycled paper N2012-02891 © Brisbane City Council 2012