50,000 more mining and gas jobs steer Queensland towards recovery

The number of jobs supported by the resources industry in Queensland, Australia has now reached 420,000, following the release of new data showing an extra 50,000 jobs have been created by the sector in the past financial year.

The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has released industry figures confirming mining, gas and energy companies added a record A$82.6 billion to the state economy in 2019-20, representing a A$5 billion increase on the year before.

QRC Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane said the latest data shows one in every five dollars in the state economy and one in six jobs are due to the Qld mining and gas industry.

“The overall number of jobs supported by resources in Queensland has risen by 13% since June last year, increasing from 372,000 to 420,000-plus people now working across our sector,” he said.

“Of these, 52,676 people are directly employed in resources and a further 367,493 jobs are supported by the sector, which emphasises the significant flow-on benefits to the wider community from having a strong resources industry in Queensland.

“This is more important than ever as Queensland businesses continue to battle the headwinds of covid,” Macfarlane added.

The number of Queensland businesses directly supported by mining, gas and energy companies rose by 5% since June last year from 14,400 to reach 15,199, with companies reporting a 19% increase in spending during this period.

The latest QRC figures show Brisbane has maintained its position as Queensland’s largest mining town with McConnel, Clayfield, Cooper and South Brisbane being in the top 10 electorates to benefit economically from the resources industry.

The top 10 Queensland electorates ranked in order of economic contribution are McConnel, Mackay, Burdekin, Gladstone, Gregory, Whitsunday, Clayfield, Cooper, Mirani and South Brisbane.

Collectively these 10 seats contribute A$46.3 billion to the Queensland economy and support the jobs of nearly 244,000 Queenslanders.