Jobs Boom Hinges On Housing

More than nine out of 10 jobs created in NSW in the past year were in the building industry, casting doubt on Sydney's employment prospects if the housing bubble bursts as interest rates rise. The construction industry has been a key contributor to Australia's world-beating economic performance, but Bureau of Statistics figures on the jobs market show employment growth in NSW is now heavily dependent on the building boom.

11am- 12 Noon

A real estate agent shows a prospective buyer through a harbourside apartment. Real estate prices rose at a slow, steady rate to around the middle of 2000, then in 2000-01 prices declined, both in this region and throughout the state, apparently with the introduction of the GST. But then housing demand surged, spurred by interest rate reductions during 2001 and an increase in the Federal government's First Home Buyers' Grant.