THE Hume region, which includes Mansfield Shire, continues to be among the state’s economic powerhouses after having experienced an employment growth rate of 8.3 per cent over the five years to 2022, fuelling strong economic growth. As of March , the most recent figures available, the region’s unemployment rate stood at 3.1 per cent, Regional Development Australia’s Hume region said in a just-released report. Areas of major jobs growth over the five-year period include healthcare, social assistance, agriculture, forestry and fishing, construction and public administration. Hume’s Gross Regional P (GRP) product continues its upward trend rising by 9.8 per cent over the five years to 2022. Since 2016, the number of businesses in the Hume region has increased by almost 4000, reaching close to 32,000. RDA Hume chair Eliza Brown said Hume continues to be a standout region supplying vital economic lifeblood to the Victorian economy. Within Hume, Mansfield is Shire is a key long-term economic force, outperforming the state on major indicators. The Shire's GRP grew 12.2 percent in the fiscal year ended June 2023, compared with 5.2 percent for the state as a whole., Mansfield's unemployment rate in March was 1.5 percent – less than half Victoria’s 3.5 percent. RDA Hume’s Business Plan for 2023-2024 details how it aims to support its local communities in a number of key strategic areas. The focus areas consider underlying challenges facing the region’s prosperity and key opportunities that will enable growth and development. “The ... plan presents key sustainable investment priorities including the delivery of a Hume Housing Prospectus that aims to identify viable solutions to our region’s housing situation,” Ms Brown said. Other priorities addressed in the plan include energy transition as well as the skills gap and workforce shortage. Ms Brown highlighted tourism as an ever-increasingly important economic driver for the Hume region. “The Alpine areas linked with the attraction of wine and gourmet food destinations and other popular tourist towns combined to attract almost nine million domestic overnight and daytrip visitors to the Hume region during the year ending June 2023,” she said. “They contributed more than $3.2 billion in tourism expenditure in the region — a truly remarkable achievement given the challenges that the sector has endured in recent years. “As emphasised in our current Business Plan, RDA Hume is fortunate to be closely involved with all levels of government and has an important role in advocating for impactful projects across the region to maximise economic benefits to all of Hume.” The RDA Hume region takes in Mansfield in the south and runs from Wodonga to Seymour and from Greater Shepparton to Towong. It has a population of over 312,000 which is expected to increase to 416,000 by 2036. In the year to June last year, the Shire’s population grew 2.1 percent to 10,335, compared with 1.1 percent for the state.
