Perth's Economy
Until recently, the reason for this has been that, for most occupations, wages were only a little less than could be found in cities such as Sydney and Melbourne while house prices in Perth were considerably lower than in the east coast cities.
From 2005 into 2007, this situation has been changing. House prices in Perth have advanced strongly while prices on the east coast have seen little growth. Prices in Sydney have actually been falling.
Jobs may be slightly harder to get in Perth than in Sydney or Melbourne. All of the usual jobs associated with a big city are available in Perth.
Western Australia has huge deposits of metal ores and coal. Booming Asian economies, particularly China, have sourced many of their raw materials from Western Australia, resulting in high economic growth for the state and its capital, Perth. Many large mining and mineral concerns have their headquarters in Perth. Mining itself is carried on outside Perth but the city is home to many support industries employing engineers and scientists.
There is a large oil refinery at Kwinana, 25 km south of Perth, with associated engineering and chemicals manufacturing jobs.
Agriculture and tourism are also large players in the Perth region's economy.