Education exports continue to plunge BY: JOHN ROSS From: The Australian November 08, 2011 4:54PM
INTERNATIONAL education earnings have continued to plummet, plunging $2.5 billion in just a year.
The industry earned $15.1bn in the four quarters to September this year, compared to $17.6bn over the preceding 12 months.
The September quarter earnings of $3.7bn were the lowest since 2007. They were 15 per cent down on 2010 figures and 22 per cent lower than the record quarterly revenue of $4.8bn between July and September 2009.
The figures are contained in international trade data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
They suggest international education's losses are accelerating. June quarter figures showed a $1.6bn decline between 2009-10 and 2010-11.
Education has fallen further behind the leading export, metal ore and minerals, which earned a record $8.2bn for the quarter and $31.7bn over 12 months. Coal, coke and briquettes earned $17.5bn for the year.
