Western Australia has an export-oriented economy, with almost half of Australia’s annual exports of goods originating from the state, including minerals, petroleum, agri-food and specialised manufactured goods. The state also attracts many international visitors and students each year. These export industries support employment across the WA economy. What sets Western Australia apart from the rest of Australia is its very strong reliance on the mineral and energy sector for export income and economic growth. Not only does this sector make a very strong direct contribution to the economy, but also an indirect contribution through the manufacturing sector, which has demonstrated strong growth in recent years due largely to the downstream processing of minerals. While the mineral and energy sectors dominate the economy, they are capital intensive industries and the services sector is by far the most important from an employment perspective.