"Deloitte also highlights the strength of the Palaszczuk government's infrastructure program, including our program of works on the Bruce Highway and Cross River Rail, Queensland's number one infrastructure project," she said. Ms Trad said the majority of jobs created were in the private sector, rather than in government bureaucracy. "We have more than 85 per cent of the jobs being created in Queensland from the private sector itself," she said. Deloitte Access Economics partner Chris Richardson said China's economy continued to charge ahead, keeping commodity prices high, which boosted export earnings for commodity-rich states, such as Queensland. Queensland had also returned to its status as a preferred destination for Australians on the move, while the strong global environment had boosted demand for the state's key exports "minerals, education and sunshine", Mr Richardson said.

Ms Trad said the CommSec State of the States report, also released on Monday, highlighted that Queensland was leading the nation in employment growth, had the fastest annual economic growth of all the states and had driven up exports by 35 per cent. However, shadow treasurer Tim Mander said the CommSec report revealed Queensland was still coming a "dismal" sixth in economic performance nationally. "On most performance indicators we're ranked right near the bottom," he said. "Today's CommSec report shows Queensland's construction sector is hurting, with housing starts dropping 15.6 per cent over the last 12 months. "We're ranked seventh for construction work and sixth for business investment."

But Ms Trad warned against putting too much stock in the CommSec report, which she said used old ABS data to paint a retrospective picture. "The basic methodology used by CommSec is fundamentally flawed," she said. "What this report does is compare current economic indicators against decade-long averages, essentially rewarding states for improving their own weak performances. "Using this methodology means that Queensland and Western Australia are punished for strong economic growth over the last decade - including a once in a generation mining boom." Ms Trad said Victoria and NSW's poor performance earlier in the decade meant that compared to those periods, they seemed to be performing better.