City of Melbourne

Employment by industry (FTE)

In the City of Melbourne, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services is the largest employer, generating 130,551 FTE jobs in 2021/22.

Full-time equivalent (FTE) employment is modelled by NIEIR and takes into account differences in hours worked between industry sectors. It is a measure that allows direct comparison of employment between industries in the City of Melbourne.

Typically, industries such as Retail Trade and Accommodation and Food Services, which employ many part-time workers, have lower FTE employment than total employment.

FTE employment is calculated directly by dividing the total hours worked in each industry by 38. By comparing the number of full-time equivalent jobs in each industry sector to a regional benchmark, you can clearly see the structure of the City of Melbourne's economy. This can be done by directly comparing the area to its benchmark, or by using a location quotient to look at the relative size of industries.

FTE employment should be viewed in conjunction with Employment by industry (Total) and Employment by industry (Census), for a full understanding of the industry breakdown in the area. Worker productivity data shows the value of a worker in each industry to the local economy. Employment locations shows where employment is taking place in each industry sector.

Data source

National Economics (NIEIR) - Modelled series

Please note: FTE employment is derived from Census data but has been corrected for the known undercount of employment in the Census. Detailed notes about how the figures are derived can be found in thespecific topic notes section.
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Full-time equivalent employment by industry sector
City of Melbourne2021/222016/17Change
IndustryNumber%. VictoriaNumber%. Victoria2016/17 - 2021/22
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing7640.12.51,1250.23.6-361
Mining2,0920.40.43,2440.70.4-1,152
Manufacturing12,1412.38.314,3273.09.8-2,186
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services11,5882.21.411,1312.31.4+457
Construction20,1543.810.520,7814.49.8-628
Wholesale Trade7,4491.43.58,3081.73.7-858
Retail Trade16,2413.18.318,9874.09.3-2,746
Accommodation and Food Services17,2693.34.526,2875.55.6-9,019
Transport, Postal and Warehousing20,5903.95.519,4414.15.7+1,149
Information Media and Telecommunications24,4334.61.930,0496.32.2-5,617
Financial and Insurance Services88,68516.84.966,32013.94.2+22,365
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services9,4071.81.79,2651.91.7+142
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services130,55124.710.999,51220.99.3+31,039
Administrative and Support Services17,4033.32.819,5864.13.2-2,183
Public Administration and Safety59,26211.26.143,2179.15.1+16,045
Education and Training28,7545.48.628,7676.08.1-13
Health Care and Social Assistance39,8367.513.231,7216.711.5+8,115
Arts and Recreation Services14,2382.71.615,5533.31.7-1,315
Other Services8,4391.63.49,3222.03.9-884
Total industries529,295100.0100.0476,945100.0100.0+52,351

Source: National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR) ©2023. ©2023. Compiled and presented in economy.id by .id (informed decisions). NIEIR-ID data are adjusted each year, using updated employment estimates. Each release may change previous years’ figures. Learn more

Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Did you know? By clicking/tapping on a category in the chart below you will be able to drilldown to the sub categories.
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Dominant groups

An analysis of the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers in the City of Melbourne in 2021/22 shows the three largest industries were:

  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (130,551 people or 24.7%)
  • Financial and Insurance Services (88,685 people or 16.8%)
  • Public Administration and Safety (59,262 people or 11.2%)

In combination these three fields accounted for 278,498 people in total or 52.6% of the local workers.

In comparison, Victoria employed 10.9% in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services; 4.9% in Financial and Insurance Services and 6.1% in Public Administration and Safety.

The major differences between the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers of the City of Melbourne and Victoria were:

  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (24.7% compared to 10.9%)
  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Financial and Insurance Services (16.8% compared to 4.9%)
  • A smaller percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Construction (3.8% compared to 10.5%)
  • A smaller percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Manufacturing (2.3% compared to 8.3%)

Emerging groups

The number of full-time equivalent local workers in the City of Melbourne increased by increased by 52,351 between 2016/17 and 2021/22.

The largest changes in the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers between 2016/17 and 2021/22 in the City of Melbourne were for those employed in:

  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+31,039 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Financial and Insurance Services (+22,365 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Public Administration and Safety (+16,045 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Health Care and Social Assistance (+8,115 full-time equivalent local workers)

Do you want to understand employment and land use in the City of Melbourne core business areas?

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