A University of Newcastle economist is confident the rise in gross domestic product (GDP) during the December quarter is good for the Hunter.
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| Dr David Savage |
"Youth unemployment is up everywhere," he said.
"When the whole economy grows, you start to find the lower end jobs start to improve as well. So, you'll find the local cafes start to hire more, the corner stores are hiring more ... because more products are being sold.
"When we have GDP growth, more people get employed, more people want to buy things - because they have more money - the general economy starts to grow.
"We start to see wage increases and start to see the standard of living increase with it."
The nation's GDP rose by 1.1 percent during the December quarter, quashing fears of a recession after a drop by 0.5 percent during the September quarter - the first drop since the Global Financial Crisis.
Treasurer Scott Morrison made the announcement yesterday, adding it has become the envy of the world.
"These growth figures say we are are at the top of the pack," Mr Morrison said.
But, Mr Morrison added that not every region in Australia was feeling the benefits of higher GDP, and Dr Savage believed the Hunter has been one, citing the downturn in the mining industry.
"When the mining economy doesn't run so well, you'll find that [mining dominate places like] Western Australia suffers, especially the Hunter - that it is so very mining sector based - and parts of Queensland have the same problem," he said.
"If the mining sector isn't firing, unemployment rates are very high, they take a very long time to catch up and we have this conversation of a two-speed economy.
"But it works in both directions, so when we do have a mining boom, you'll that these areas are doing very, very well."
However, he also said low employment in the mining sector is not related to youth unemployment, because youth employment often comes "from the general sector".
What has been boasted as another boom for the region's economy is the upcoming V8 Supercars race in November, and Dr Savage said it will help funnel huge revenue into the local economy.
He said a good case study was the Gold Coast 600, where there was - and still is - community disquiet around the race, but strong business enthusiasm.
"For businesses, it's really good and that sort of thing can spark a lot of tourism and money flow for even that short period of time," he said.
"It's also very good promotion [for Newcastle] Australia-wide. Now that the Supercars are going to different places like New Zealand and China, we also get telecasted to those regions.
"So it's good for tourism across the board."
