Cairns Regional Council

Employment self-sufficiency

In 2021, 95.2% of Cairns Regional Council’s local workers were residents.

Self-sufficiency measures the proportion of local workers in the local area who also live in the Local Government Area or region. It indicates the level at which the resident workers meet the labour requirements of the local industries or businesses.

Self-sufficiency is likely to be higher for regional areas, lower in metropolitan areas and is influenced by:

  • The nature of employment opportunities versus the skills and qualifications of residents;
  • Transport options available and commuting times;
  • Relationship between wages and salaries and house prices in the area; and
  • The geographic size of the area.

Employment self-sufficiency data should be viewed in conjunction with detailed Workers place of residence data to see how far workers are travelling to access employment in the area, as well as Worker productivity and Local workers income and Local workers hours worked data to look at the value of local workers contributions. The Resident workers section will provide the characteristics of resident workers.

Data source

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2016 & 2021 – by place of work

  • Industry
  • Occupations
Employment self-sufficiency by Industry
Cairns Regional Council20212016Change
IndustryTotal local workersLocal workers living in the region% of local workers living in the regionTotal local workersLocal workers living in the region% of local workers living in the region2016 - 2021
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing1,11599289.01,04993789.3-0.4%
Mining22120693.220618489.3+3.9%
Manufacturing2,7332,62496.02,6162,46294.1+1.9%
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services82379296.261759295.9+0.3%
Construction5,5035,17894.14,5014,24294.2-0.1%
Wholesale Trade1,5651,52197.21,6061,57698.1-0.9%
Retail Trade7,5817,39797.67,6007,35096.7+0.9%
Accommodation and Food Services7,7327,49596.97,0866,90497.4-0.5%
Transport, Postal and Warehousing4,0843,87094.84,1573,93194.6+0.2%
Information Media and Telecommunications40238495.555052996.2-0.7%
Financial and Insurance Services96994497.41,0741,04196.9+0.5%
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services1,3061,27597.61,4411,40197.2+0.4%
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services3,4973,31694.83,2463,14496.9-2.0%
Administrative and Support Services2,4192,32596.12,6642,58196.9-0.8%
Public Administration and Safety5,5975,23793.65,3815,15495.8-2.2%
Education and Training6,9396,66696.16,2185,99596.4-0.3%
Health Care and Social Assistance14,08813,39595.110,2689,80495.5-0.4%
Arts and Recreation Services1,1171,08196.81,3181,27296.5+0.3%
Other Services3,5123,39896.82,9172,82396.8+0.0%
Industry not classified2,7582,62795.32,5522,44595.8-0.5%
Total Industries74,32470,72995.267,36564,36395.5-0.4%

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021 Compiled and presented in economy.id by .id (informed decisions).

Please refer to specific data notes for more information
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Cairns Regional Council

economic profile