The West Australian Economy

The economy in Western Australia is heavily based on mining, such as iron ore, lead, and gold. Other goods and services provided by WA are agriculture (such as wheat, barley and sheep products), fishing and tourism.

There are several regions located in Western Australia. Each region provides different goods and services. Gascoyne, located north-west of WA, has a diverse economy. Tourism, pastoralism and mining (mainly salt and gypsum) are the main goods and services provided by the Gascoyne region. Goldfields-Esperance, a region located in the south-east corner of WA, provides mining (such as gold and nickel), fishing and agriculture. The Kimberly, located in the northern part of WA, features diverse industries such as pearling, mining (mainly diamonds, zinc and lead), agriculture, and even indigenous art. The Pilbara's economy is dominated by mining and petroleum industries, and also provides tourism. Most of Australia's iron ore comes from the Pilbara.

Western Australia has the highest per capita output than any of the other states, thanks to the economy highly based on extraction and export of mining and petroleum commodities. The average full time income for a Western Australian in 2007 was $61,662, compared to the national average of A$57,387. Western Australia is ranked 2nd behind the Australian Capital Territory. Thanks to its booming economy, this causes a massive rise in property value. The average residential property increased in value by over 40% in 2006. Perth property is now the second most valuable in Australia behind Sydney. Also, the WA economy heavily depends on the countries that they export to.

The Western Australian economy might be deteriorating as there are still labour shortages. This might lead to losing significant economic opportunities. If these economic opportunities are taken, obviously this could increase the WA economy, but might cause the property price to increase even more.