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Industry Overview
The ICT sector in WA is comparable in size to Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry combined, and is the state’s 12th largest industry, valued at around $2.9 billion1.
In 2004/05 ICT goods and services in Australia produced revenue of $54.4 billion, with WA revenue in 2004 estimated at more than $6.6 billion. In 2004/05, the WA ICT sector provided direct employment for 23,000 West Australians and exported goods and services totalling $5.14 million.
The ICT sector in WA is vibrant and innovative, and experiencing strong growth in industries where ICT plays a large part in this state, including the resources, oil and gas, financial services and other industries.
The Western Australian Information and Communications (ICT) Industry Development Forum, in their study2, encapsulated the contribution of the industry to the Western Australian economy as follows:
ICT revenue
Revenue earned by ICT specialist firms in Western Australia was estimated to be in excess of $6.6 billion in 2004.
ICT industry gross product
The Western Australian ICT industry was worth $2.9 billion in 2003-04 or 3.3 per cent of the State's Gross Output. Today the ICT industry is of similar size to the combined agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.
ICT firms in Western Australia
There are an estimated 1,800 specialist ICT firms in Western Australia.
Direct employment
ICT provides direct employment for 23,000 people, nearly as high as the State's highly labour intensive accommodation and hospitality industry.
Size of the Western Australian ICT industry sector
The Western Australian ICT Industry as an industry in its own right is the State's 12th largest industry. However, the figures above do not take into account the value of ICT use to Western Australia's economy nor the dependence of Western Australian industry on ICT.
Value of ICT use
Multiplier analysis shows that the total value of ICT use across the Western Australian economy lies somewhere between $10.1 billion and $17.6 billion.
Value of ICT use - contribution to GSP
ICT contributed between 13.7 per cent and 23.8 per cent to the State's Gross State Product (GSP) in 2003-04.
Jobs generated by ICT use in Western Australia
ICT is indirectly responsible for between 107,000 and 161,000 jobs in the State - accounting for between 10% - 17% of the State's workforce. This is on top of the 23,000 jobs that the ICT sector creates directly.
Skilled people are critical
The biggest constraint on using or increasing use of ICT was identified by survey respondents as being a shortage of appropriately skilled people.
1 Economics & Industry Standing Committee (2007) The State Government’s Role in Developing and Promoting Information Communications Technology ( ICT) in WA Report No. 5
2 Source: Enabling Growth: The Contribution of ICT to the Western Australian Economy, TIAC, February 2006
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