Step 1: Economic conditions

The information you gather in this step will help you answer the following questions about the region where you will operate your business:

• What is the population level and projections of my region?
• What is the general level of education of my region?
• What is the economic forecast for my region?
• What is the level of building activity for my region?
• What industries are people employed in my region?
• What are the birthplaces of the people in my region?

Find your local government area (LGA)

To find the name of the LGA where you will be operating your business:

1. Go to the Queensland place names database.
2. Type in the name of the town or suburb where you plan to operate your business.
3. Click on the 'Search' button.
4. If more than one name appears in the search list, click on the place name that is most relevant to your business.
5. This will generate the name of your 'Local authority', its boundaries and other details.

Create a profile of your region

To generate a profile of the region in which you will be operating your business:

1. Go to Queensland Regional Profiles.
2. Under 'Step 1: Select Region Type', click on 'Local Government Area (LGA)'.
3. Under 'Step 2: Select Region(s)', click on 'by name'.
4. Select your LGA from the list of 'Available Regions'.
5. Click on the arrow button →. Your LGA will then appear under 'Selected Regions'. (Note: you can repeat this step to select multiple LGAs.)
6. Under 'Step 3: Select a comparison region', choose a region to compare with, if necessary.
7. Under 'Step 4: Select a report type and topic(s)', choose the type of report you would like (Resident, Time Series, Workforce, Indigenous or Snapshot), then choose 'All topics' from the drop down list.
8. Under 'Step 5: Output type', click on either PDF or HTML.
9. Click on 'Create Report'.
10. Save a copy of this file to your desktop.

Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review

The Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review is released annually and provides a brief summary of a range of economic and financial indicators. To access the Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review:

1. Go to the Mid Year Fiscal and Economic Review.
2. Click on the 'PDF' link of the most recent release.
3. Save a copy of this file to your desktop.

To go to the next step of your online market research, click the 'Next' button on the bottom right of this page.

Also consider...

• Learn more about different research resources for business and industry.
• Use our business planning template to record the results of your market research.
• The Australian Bureau of Statistics has a range of data to help you understand the social and economic climate.
• Find out how to benchmark your business.