In NSW alone, during 2000, the manufacturing industry contributed 13.4% of the state's total earnings (Australian Bureau of Statistics).
Machinery and equipment manufacture were the largest contributors to the above figure in NSW, with machinery manufacture at 19.9% and equipment manufacture at 17.1%.
Manufacturing is one of the major export industries in NSW with exports increasing in 1999-2000 by 11.3%, again with machinery and equipment manufacture up 12.2% and metal products manufacturing up 13.1% (Industry Science Resources 1999-2000). Additionally the machinery and equipment sector of manufacturing has demonstrated significant growth in export activity during the December quarter of 2000 (Ai Group and Price Waterhouse Coopers).
International competition by imported manufactured goods has remained low during the December quarter of 2000 due to the low Australian dollar. This situation makes us more competitive globally. Goods that are imported into this country are more expensive, thus increasing the demand for Australian manufactured goods in both the domestic and international market.
Employment
As mentioned, the manufacturing and engineering industry in Australia employs numbers approaching one million employees. It is the second largest employer in NSW, with 12% of the NSW workforce (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2000). The manufacturing industry remains the largest employer of people over 24 years of age. Currently, only 13.9% of workers in manufacturing are between 15 and 24 years old (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2000).
In the year up to August 2000 the number of workers employed in the NSW manufacturing industry increased by 1.8% on levels of 1999 (Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business 2000).
In 2000, figures indicate that 89.1% of workers employed in manufacturing are employed under traditional full-time arrangements with 11.9% under casual arrangements. This means that only 6.2% of workers hold employment under some other type of arrangement such as labour hire or semi-permanent employment (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2000). These facts mean that the manufacturing industry is a major contributor to stable employment trends within the Australian economy.
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