The Northern Territory has once again been ranked last overall in the country in terms of economic performance in the latest CommSec State of the States report, led by slow retail spending and high inflation.

CommSec’s annual economic report—often criticized by the NT Government since it rates each state against its economic performance over the past 10 years—placed the Territory in the 8th spot mainly due to its weakened resource exports and retail trade spending.

The Territory’s retail trade spending grew by a mere 1.6 per cent on the 10-year average, the lowest of all jurisdictions. Year-on-year, the Territory’s retail trade spending posted the second bottommost increase of 0.7 per cent, CommSec’s January 2023 report said.

Retail spending and economic growth continue to be the lowest in the country despite the Territory’s growing population.

As of the March quarter of last year, the Territory’s annual population growth had recorded a 0.34 per cent increase.

However, in one bright spot, the NT led on job growth – up 5.7 per cent to lead the country.

The report shows new equipment investment in the Territory was down 38.5 per cent on the decade average. Likewise, year-on-year new equipment investment fell 44.5 per cent.

The Territory’s equipment investment is currently at nine-quarter lows.

The jobless rate for the Territory is pegged at 3.9 per cent, below the 4.4 per cent 10-year average rate.

The Territory’s construction sector, meanwhile, posted the weakest figures in the September quarter at 56.3 per cent below the decade average. In terms of annual growth rates, construction in the Territory has experienced a 2.3 per cent drop, with Queensland registering the largest decline with 3.9 per cent.

On home loans, the report said that all jurisdictions were above decade averages, except for the Territory which is 0.5 per cent lower than its 10-year average.

Year-on-year, the Territory’s house financing sector recorded the third biggest decrease in home loans, down 23.6 per cent after Victoria, which is down by 27.8 per cent, and New South Wales, down by 31.1 per cent.

Dwelling starts – which measure new construction of private housing units and are considered an important indicator of the economy – saw the Territory registering a 31.5 per cent decline below the decade average.

A decline in housing starts (sensitive to interest rates) could indicate that the economy is headed into recession, while a steady increase signals that the economy is on track for further growth.

Year-on-year, only three jurisdictions posted gains to September topped by the Territory as its dwelling starts increased by 80.5 per cent annually, followed by ACT with an increase of 32.6 per cent, and South Australia with a gain of 8.8 per cent.

The Territory’s inflation rate for the September quarter was recorded at 7 per cent.

Raised annual inflation rates and meagre wage increases translated to negative real wage growth for all jurisdictions for the June quarter.

Nationwide, the wage increase of 3.2 per cent posted was a drop from the 6.1 per cent lift in the adjusted statistical averages. The NT recorded the lowest annual wage growth at 2.5 per cent.

Overall, home prices fell by 5.3 per cent over the year to December, the biggest annual decline since 2008.

The annual average rate of home prices in the Territory recorded the second biggest increase with 4.1 per cent, second only to South Australia which went up by 11 per cent.