NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee has confirmed, via the group’s annual member expenditure survey, that 29 participating NSW mining companies in the last financial year supported record levels of mining jobs and near-record levels of direct spending in the Australian state.
According to the data, those mining companies supported over 35,100 full-time equivalent jobs, an increase of almost 160 jobs from the previous year, and the highest number of mining jobs reported in the history of the survey, he said. It also revealed that those companies directly injected about $22 billion into the state’s economy over the same period. That is a match to the previous year’s spending figure, and nearly doubles the 2014-15 financial year figure of $11 billion.
The $22 billion in direct spending included $4 billion spent on wages and salaries, $14.2 billion for goods and services purchased from more than 7,500 NSW businesses, and $3.6 billion in royalties and other taxes paid to the NSW government, the Minerals Council found.
“The coal sector delivered the largest contribution to the NSW economy, delivering $19.3 billion in direct spending, including $3.4 billion in wages and salaries, and $12.5 billion with almost 5,400 local supply businesses,” it said. “The coal sector directly provided over 26,100 jobs and delivered $3.3 billion billion in royalties and other taxes paid to the NSW government.”
Meanwhile, the metals mining sector delivered $2.6 billion in direct spending to the NSW economy, including $600 million in wages and salaries and $1.6 billion with over 2,800 local supply businesses. The metals sector directly provided over 9,000 jobs and delivered $300,000 million in royalties and other taxes paid to the NSW government.
“The mining sector’s contribution to the NSW economy is one of the largest in the 14-year history of the survey, delivering more jobs than ever, spending $22 billion directly across the state, and supporting more than 7,500 NSW businesses,” said Galilee.
A full copy of the report will be available on the NSW Mining website soon.
Source: NSW Minerals Council