Ballarat’s economic boom

Statistics from regional data specialists show the City of Ballarat is steadily growing in three key areas – population, jobs and the economy.

Ballarat’s Gross Regional Product (GRP), which tells the story of the city’s economic performance, reached $8.3 billion in 2022. This is a 10.3 per cent growth on 2021. 

From 2016 to 2023, those that call Ballarat home grew by 13.2 per cent, with the current population forecast for 2023 at 117,240.  

According to the 2021 census, the largest age group moving to Ballarat in the five years prior were 20 to 39-year-olds, with this demographic accounting for more than 50 per cent of those moving to Ballarat.  

Ballarat has also seen an average growth rate in jobs of 3.63 per cent each year between 2016 and 2021, with a total of 57,524 jobs in the municipality as at the last census.

In the March 2023 quarter, there were approximately 9,500 total businesses registered in the City of Ballarat.  

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said Ballarat is a city with a diverse economic base, which makes it an appealing destination to live, work and invest.

“It is notable that the jobs growth rate for Ballarat in recent years exceeds the population growth rate – again, this is a sign of healthy growth,” he said.

“However, it also explains the workforce pressures some industries are experiencing and why we need to continue to welcome new residents to Ballarat to fill those vacancies.

“We are also starting to see significant interest from large employers to move their operations to Ballarat, in particular continued interest from the advanced manufacturing sector.

“As our population grows, so do those services our residents need, such as healthcare, education, construction and retail.”

References

Data source for economic and jobs data – REMPLAN Economy

Data source for population – id.economy