Tasmania ranked last in Australia’s economic ranking of states
Tasmania ranked last in the new quarterly State of the States ranking of economic indicators for Australia’s states and territories, compiled by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. As ABC News Australia reports, the state has remained at the bottom of the ranking throughout 2026, although four years ago it regularly topped it.
Unemployment and investment
The report assesses six economic indicators, comparing the performance of each state and territory with its own decade average. Tasmania’s unemployment rate rose from 3.8% a year ago to 5.1%, the highest figure in the country.
Wage growth in the state has slowed. The pace of growth in total labour income is also slowing more sharply than in all other Australian jurisdictions except Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. Business investment increased slightly, while housing investment fell by 6.2%.
Tasmania’s public demand indicator, meaning government spending, also ranked last. The report noted that the latest data are distorted by the purchase of new Spirit of Tasmania vessels, which affected the state’s balance.
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Consumption and politicians’ reactions
Household consumption was the only positive indicator: it rose by 2.1%, placing Tasmania fourth on this measure. The report’s authors suggested this may be linked to the state’s older population, some of whom have already paid off their mortgages and are not affected by higher interest rates.
At the same time, CommBank warned that worsening conditions in the labour market could eventually affect household spending. Tasmania’s population aged 15 and over grew by only 0.7% over the year, the slowest rate among the country’s states and territories.
Labor Party shadow treasurer Dean Winter said the result demonstrated the failure of the Liberal government’s economic plan. Tasmania’s Treasurer Eric Abetz, in turn, described the state’s economy as resilient despite high interest rates and referred to an NAB survey in which Tasmania ranked first for business conditions and business confidence. He also said investments in a stadium in Hobart and a convention centre in Launceston would support the economy.
