About the Queensland Economy

Queensland’s modern, vibrant economy, with more than $510 billion in economic output in 2023-24, is supported by a range of industries, including a diverse services sector.

Over the past two decades, Queensland’s economic growth has generally exceeded the national average, reflecting a range of factors and trends including strong population growth, the resources investment boom and associated upturn in LNG exports as well as ongoing strength in mining, and solid growth across a range of key sectors of the economy, including key service-based industries.

A strong position

The 2025-26 State Budget forecast Queensland’s economic growth to strengthen to 2½% in 2024-25 and 2¾% in 2025-26, after rising 2.1% in 2023-24. Despite headwinds from increased interest rates and recent high inflation, Queensland’s labour market has remained strong, with employment growth since COVID-19 outperforming the rest of the nation on average.

Queensland’s growing population, totalling 5.6 million as at 31 December 2024, has been driven by nation leading net interstate migration since COVID-19 and a substantial rebound in net overseas migration after international borders were reopened. After growing by 2.5% in 2023-24, Queensland’s population growth is forecast to moderate to 1¾% in 2024-25 and 1½% in both 2025-26 and 2026-27.

Reflecting continued strength in Queensland’s labour market, the state’s unemployment rate has remained very low by historical standards, averaging around 4% in 2024-25. Labour force participation has been elevated, and employment growth has been strong.

A diversified economy

Mining was Queensland’s largest industry in 2023-24, worth A$61.6 billion in nominal gross value added (GVA) terms (12.9% of Queensland’s total GVA). Mining’s share of economic activity is heavily influenced by movements in global commodity prices. Over the past decade, it has averaged 12.0% of annual GVA but fluctuated between a low of 6.7% and a high of 18.2%.

After mining, the largest contribution to the Queensland economy in 2023-24 was from the health care and social assistance industry, accounting for $44.4 billion (or 9.3% of total GVA). The health care sector is also the state’s largest employer, employing 455,900 workers in 2023-24.

The health sector has been one of the major contributors to the Queensland’s economic growth over the last decade, growing by approximately 6.5% per annum in real terms. As the state’s population ages and the demand for health services increases, job opportunities in this sector are expected to increase.

The latest Tourism Research Australia data estimates the tourism industry to have contributed $15.7 billion in GVA to the Queensland economy in 2023-24. Our tourism market is the second largest in Australia, accounting for 23.8% of national tourism output and providing 156,000 direct jobs in 2023-24. Meanwhile, the education and training sector contributed $23.9 billion (5.0% of total output) to Queensland’s economy in 2023-24.

The ongoing diversification of Queensland’s economy is also reflected in the strength of the state’s financial and professional services sectors. Combined, these sectors accounted for $57.0 billion of Queensland’s economic output in 2023-24 and employed 305,700 people.

The third largest employer in the state is the construction sector, with 278,600 people employed in the industry in 2023-24. The construction industry contributed $37.6 billion (7.9% of total output) to Queensland’s economy in 2023-24, making it the state’s fourth largest industry.

Economic snapshot

The following data provides a snapshot of the key economic indicators used to assess the economic performance of Queensland and are regularly updated to reflect the most recent data.