A strong focus on spending money locally helped Cairns Regional Council generate a total economic impact of $754 million in the 2022/23 financial year.
The latest State of Procurement report revealed Council contributed 4% to the Cairns Gross Regional Product and directly supported 3,578 local jobs with a total of $339 million, or 87% Council's total expenditure, spent at Cairns businesses.
For the first time ever, the number of businesses operating in Cairns has ticked over 15,000 as the regional economy experiences steady growth.
Cairns has also experienced jobs growth in the past two years.
Mayor Bob Manning said the region's economic diversity supported its resilience in the past few years.
"Council continues to play a vital role in growing the economy and is focused on supporting the local business community," Cr Manning said.
"Our organisation is a major contributor to the Cairns economy, pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the region through jobs and spending.
"As a Small Business Friendly Council, we are committed to delivering initiatives that support small business and cutting red tape to help businesses grow."
Council also noted progress on its Economic Development Strategy, which serves as a blueprint to bolster the region's economy and reinforce its position as a hub of business innovation and resilience.
The report revealed almost 3000 new jobs were created in the Cairns Local Government Area in the two-year period to June 2022, with significant milestones achieved across advocacy, major events, priority industries, geographic areas of focus and other economic initiatives.
During the reporting period, Council sponsored 21 major events, which had an estimated economic impact of $53.65 million, and it continued to work with stakeholders to progress the Smart Green Economy project.
Cr Manning said the strategy was underpinned by strong collaboration with the business sector.
"Council strives to create a dynamic and resilient economy that supports local businesses and propels Cairns forward," he said.
"Cairns has a significant pipeline of major projects to be delivered, each of which will play an important role in Cairns' continued economic recovery."
Other economic highlights include:
- Local consumer spending data for Cairns in the 12-month period to June 2023 was $5.4 billion – a significant increase from $3.3 billion in the same period before the pandemic.
- The unemployment rate remains relatively low in Cairns at 3.7% as of March 2023 (compared to 4.3% pre-COVID-19 in December 2019).
- Council's 2022/23 capital works program resulted in a total impact of 980 additional jobs in the Cairns regional economy.
