Albany bucks regional WA’s declining business trend

Albany has experienced growth in the number of actively trading businesses, bucking the trend of other major regional centres in WA, according to data released this week. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates there were 325 new businesses active — and an increase of 20 overall — in Albany during the 2018-19 financial year compared with 2017-18. Busselton is the only other major population centre in regional WA to make gains in its total number of operating business, with Geraldton, Kalgoorlie and Bunbury all suffering losses. Those numbers coincide with projected population figures. Albany and Busselton are both experiencing modest population growth predictions while the other three cities are expected to lose residents. Gains in the number of sole traders and small businesses helped to propel Albany’s business growth. There were fewer medium-sized business employing five to 19 workers but the number of big businesses with 20 or more rose 7.8 per cent. Mining, health care and social services as well as financial and insurance services were among the industries with the highest gains for the 2018-19 financial year. The transport, postal and warehousing sector added five new operators after three straight years of declining numbers. After enjoying a four-year high of 700 businesses in the 2017-18 financial year, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry dropped down to 688 in 2018-19. Elsewhere in the region, the shires of Denmark and Plantagenet both suffered dips in business. In Plantagenet, the number of businesses dropped in the categories of professional, scientific, technical services, and financial and insurance services. New businesses rose in those categories in Denmark, where losses were recorded in construction, health care and social services.