Cairns

Employment by industry (FTE)

In Cairns, Health Care and Social Assistance is the largest employer, generating 13,261 FTE jobs in 2022/23.

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 Cairns.

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 Cairns'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
Cairns2022/232008/09Change
IndustryNumber%. Regional QLDNumber%. Regional QLD2008/09 - 2022/23
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing1,1731.65.01,2882.08.0-115
Mining3900.55.04340.74.1-44
Manufacturing3,2434.56.73,4235.48.5-179
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services9761.31.56371.01.2+339
Construction7,1429.912.68,15612.813.0-1,014
Wholesale Trade1,5052.12.31,8983.03.1-393
Retail Trade6,2948.78.17,69712.110.7-1,403
Accommodation and Food Services5,6787.86.46,1499.76.8-471
Transport, Postal and Warehousing5,5187.64.85,6178.85.6-99
Information Media and Telecommunications5100.70.87841.21.3-275
Financial and Insurance Services9801.41.91,1481.81.9-168
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services1,2251.71.81,5862.52.4-361
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services4,1295.75.23,4715.54.5+658
Administrative and Support Services3,0414.23.12,2803.62.6+761
Public Administration and Safety5,7557.95.94,6867.45.4+1,070
Education and Training7,0209.78.54,4707.06.8+2,550
Health Care and Social Assistance13,26118.314.85,9379.38.3+7,323
Arts and Recreation Services9181.31.51,2522.01.5-334
Other Services3,7215.14.42,7504.34.3+971
Total industries72,478100.0100.063,663100.0100.0+8,815

Source: National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR) ©2024. ©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 Cairns in 2022/23 shows the three largest industries were:

  • Health Care and Social Assistance (13,261 people or 18.3%)
  • Construction (7,142 people or 9.9%)
  • Education and Training (7,020 people or 9.7%)

In combination these three fields accounted for 27,424 people in total or 37.8% of the local workers.

In comparison, Regional QLD employed 14.8% in Health Care and Social Assistance; 12.6% in Construction and 8.5% in Education and Training.

The major differences between the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers of Cairns and Regional QLD were:

  • A smaller percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Mining (0.5% compared to 5.0%)
  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Health Care and Social Assistance (18.3% compared to 14.8%)
  • A smaller percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (1.6% compared to 5.0%)
  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Transport, Postal and Warehousing (7.6% compared to 4.8%)

Emerging groups

The number of full-time equivalent local workers in Cairns increased by increased by 8,815 between 2008/09 and 2022/23.

The largest changes in the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers between 2008/09 and 2022/23 in Cairns were for those employed in:

  • Health Care and Social Assistance (+7,323 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Education and Training (+2,550 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Public Administration and Safety (+1,070 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Other Services (+971 full-time equivalent local workers)

Cairns Regional Council

economic profile