1832 Mackay jobs lost in three years as downturn bites

THE resources sector still fills the tills in Mackay - an industry funded report showing $7.3billion flowed into the region last financial year.

Queensland Resources Council's seventh annual economic contribution report, released Thursday, found the resources industry paid $1billion in wages to almost 7000 full-time employees in the Mackay region, which includes Mackay, Whitsundays and Isaac.

But those figures also showed the effects of the downturn, with a difference of $3.8b less and 1832 fewer direct jobs in the three years since the 2012/13 report.

This is a drop of 34% of the resources sector's total economic impact on the region and a 21% reduction in direct full-time employment in that time.

The combined direct and flow-on effects of the downturn is more sober reading with 24,000 fewer full-time positions as a result of the sector now compared to the 2012/13 report.

Brisbane was once again the heart of Queensland's resources industry, despite also being down on all of the key indicators from 2012/13.

The report found the total impact of the sector on Brisbane's economy was $27b and it supported 133,070 full-time employees, injecting $20 billion more into Brisbane than the Mackay region despite directly employing 1604 fewer full-time positions in the State's capital.

The resource industry's impact on the Mackay region in the 2015/16 financial year

The sector's contribution to Mackay has fallen since 2011/12, when direct employees numbered 8822, with $2b in salaries and $11b going into the local economy as a result of indirect and flow-on effects.

Despite this the industry, this year, still contributed 38% of gross regional product for Mackay and was either directly or indirectly responsible for employing 49,306 people.

"The $3.7b contribution of wages, goods and services and local taxes stimulates an additional $3.6b in indirect benefits for the region through flow-on expenditure," QRC chief executive Michael Roche said. "These results demonstrate the continued importance of the resources sector to the Mackay economy.."

The 2016-17 results could show an increase in the contribution from the resources sector for the Mackay region, with BHP recently announced it had already spent $11m through the local buying program in the first quarter this financial year compared to $26.5m throughout the entire 2015-16.

The resource industry's impact on Brisbane in the 2015/16 financial year