Economics Essay - Australia's Economy
Australia has one of the world's strongest economies to date. With a GDP of US $1.57 trillion and a wealth of over $6.4 trillion USD, the Australian economy was one of the few world economies not adversely effected by 2008's financial crisis. Its strengths are attributable to its bountiful exports as well as the financial success of its citizenry.
Australia's main industry is the services industry that accounts for nearly 68% of Australia's gross domestic product. The biggest service jobs are currently IT related jobs, such as computer system design and engineering. Another important sector of Australia's economy is the mining industry that accounts for nearly 9% of Australia's GDP. However, Australia is rich in a number of natural resources like wheat, wool, gold, iron ore, coal, and liquefied gas that are exported to East Asia.
Due to such an abundance of different exports and profitable IT related work, Australia is one of the richest nations per capita in the world. The median household income is currently $60,278 USD in Australia. In the United States, it has fallen since the financial crisis from about $56,000 USD to an average of $50,233 according to the Census Bureau. Due to the lack of impact following the financial crisis, Australia's Big Banks like the National Australia Bank, the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group were among the “World's Safest Banks†according to Global Finance Magazine in 2012. Moreover, Australia's median wealth of $222,000 USD is the highest in the world and Australia's per capita GDP is higher than in Germany, France, and the UK due to purchasing power parity.
Because Australia's economy is so strong, the unemployment rate in 2013 is 5.6% according to the Australia Bureau of Statistics. Furthermore, young Australians ages 15-24 are only experiencing an unemployment rate of 11.9%, which is significantly better than their counterparts in many parts of the EU. All of these factors together have made Australia among the most successful and prosperous nations in the world.