In a prosperous city, entrepreneurs and businesses thrive and people share their wealth. A prosperous city has a global focus with state of the art infrastructure and services, a highly skilled workforce and affordable business accommodation. A prosperous city shares its knowledge and mentors emerging businesses. It promotes connections and collaborations and attracts global investment and visitors. A prosperous city is stimulating and safe with a vibrant calendar of national and international sporting and cultural events.
Future Melbourne 2008

The municipality’s economy has experienced steady employment growth, despite the global financial crisis and slowdown of the mining economy in Australia. According to the latest results of the City of Melbourne Census of Land Use and Employment (CLUE), there are just over 450,000 jobs provided in the municipality.

Significantly, the gross local product measured by the City of Melbourne in 2012 showed a 22.5 per cent increase from 2008. This would have contributed to the increase in the number of jobs.

Building prosperity together incorporates all of the City of Melbourne’s business development activities including investment, social integration, multi-purpose infrastructure, sustainable transport, smart technology, recruitment and retention of skills and talent. It includes partnerships with the private sector and a program for growing and evolving our population.

The City of Melbourne was selected from 372 applications around the world to be among the first wave of 33 cities to join the 100 Resilient Cities network. The aim of the network is to help cities around the world become more resilient to present and future physical, social and economic challenges.

Capital cities are usually the economic hub of a state. The City of Melbourne is no different. Continued population growth will impose significant infrastructure demands essential for maintaining the municipality’s prosperity.

A clear developing trend is the emergence of the sharing economy and introduction of new business models. For example, new corporate social enterprises, start ups and other entrepreneurial businesses are changing the shape of how producers, consumers and society operate. The municipality is being exposed to these forces and will have to adapt if the City of Melbourne is to retain the community’s goal of Melbourne being a bold and inspirational city.

Similarly, connections with other Australian states and territories and with international markets will create enormous opportunities for the City of Melbourne.

Read more about this goal in the Future Melbourne 2008 Report: