For the fourth consecutive quarter, New South Wales has been the best performing State in Australia. Commsec's January 2017 State of the States Report found that NSW remains the top State for business investment, retail trade, and dwelling starts; recently became top-ranked on unemployment and economic growth; and is in second place for construction work and population growth.

Nevertheless, a range of trends relating to employment should remain of concern to policymakers. As reported by the Reserve Bank of Australia, recent employment growth in Australia has come almost entirely from part time employment rather than full time jobs. However, ABS employment data may understate these problems, with observers arguing that, because of the way the ABS Labour Force Survey defines 'employment', the Bureau underreports the true level of unemployment. Alongside other ABS data that suggests underemployment is becoming an increasingly important issue for State and Commonwealth Governments, it has been argued that a new method of measuring employment is needed to more accurately assess the economic health of the NSW (and national) labour force.