INDICATIONS that the labour force participation rate for Ballarat is rising are good signs for the city.

Despite some strong economic growth in recent years, the problem of providing more employment options has remained.

Unemployment levels were generally higher than would be expected, given the investment of business and industry in Ballarat.

It is a city which has proven attractive to new industry and provided a climate in which many existing businesses have chosen to expand.

Perhaps it was only a matter of time before the participation rate in the workforce increased, but for some time it appeared as though this might never occur.

But during the September quarter, Ballarat's labour force grew by 2012 people up to 44,114 or more than half of the city's population.

The unemployment rate was 6.6 per cent, a fall of 1.2 per cent during the quarter.

There is still, obviously, some work to do but the signs are good.

They could be interpreted as indicating there are more households with a more stable income stream.

As a result, it suggests that the service and small business sector of the economy could be in for a strong 2006 with a greater amount of disposable income in the community.

The important thing, though, is that there are people in Ballarat who are now in employment who may not have been for some time.

This will do their self esteem a great deal of good and suggests that Ballarat is now proving to be an even more attractive place to live.

This reality has the potential to attract more people to the city and region, bringing the promise of even greater prosperity in the future for all sectors of business and industry.

The real estate industry, which has held up well in a slightly higher interest rate environment during 2005, will be particularly hopeful.

It is not all quite as simple as it might appear, but nevertheless a return to positive signs in the employment sector provides further reason for economic optimism leading into 2006.