CCIWA Chief Economist Rick Newnham said the economy was finding its feet after the transition from the mining construction to production phase.

“For the first time in four and a half years, the WA domestic economy has expanded,” Newnham said.

“Piece by piece we are putting together a more optimistic outlook for the future of the WA economy.”

Although domestic growth was just 0.2 per cent year-on-year, it was driven by rebounding household consumption, stemming from increased optimism in WA households.

Meanwhile, household consumption had grown by 1.5 per cent year-on-year after weak growth in 2016-17.

“There are better signs for job creation with business investment falling by just 4.4 per cent,” Newnham says.

“The decline in business investment has been a weight pulling down WA’s economy and restraining jobs growth. Once business investment stops falling and returns to growth we expect the whole economy to begin to pick up.”

CCI will soon release its latest forecast for the WA economy, Outlook, outlining how we believe the economy will perform over the next three years.