Western Downs Regional Council area

Jobs to workers ratio

The jobs to residents ratio for the Western Downs Regional Council area in 2022/23 was 1.14, meaning that there were more jobs than resident workers. Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services had the highest ratio (2.37), while the lowest ratio was found in Information Media and Telecommunications (0.76).

A goal of economic development is often to maximise the employment opportunities locally, leading to a more socially and environmentally sustainable community.

Employment capacity is a simple way of looking at whether the Western Downs Regional Council area could theoretically provide jobs for all its residents if they were to choose to work locally.

Employment capacity is simply the number of local jobs in an industry, divided by the number of local residents employed (anywhere) in that industry. A figure over 1.0 means there are more jobs available than residents employed in that industry. Under 1.0 means there are more residents employed than jobs available in that sector.

This is a theoretical exercise as, even if there are enough jobs provided locally, there will always be some people who choose to commute out of the area.

Employment capacity data should be viewed in conjunction with Employment self-containment and Residents place of work data, which provides detail about the actual proportion of residents working locally, and Gross Regional Product and Worker productivity data which shows the economic contribution of residents and workers.

Data source

National Economics (NIEIR) - Modelled series

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Employment capacity by industry
Western Downs Regional Council area2022/232017/18
IndustryLocal jobsEmployed residentsRatio of jobs to residentsLocal jobsEmployed residentsRatio of jobs to residents
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing2,6862,6081.032,9082,8331.03
Mining1,3596792.001,5226622.30
Manufacturing1,1301,1291.009349450.99
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services1,1414812.379405901.59
Construction2,1171,6811.262,7521,8381.50
Wholesale Trade4414690.944684311.09
Retail Trade1,5621,4341.091,5641,4581.07
Accommodation and Food Services1,0139731.041,0811,0001.08
Transport, Postal and Warehousing7696101.266726261.07
Information Media and Telecommunications48630.7681840.96
Financial and Insurance Services1431421.011981891.05
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services3393381.001691621.04
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services6496071.075755081.13
Administrative and Support Services4774411.083943421.15
Public Administration and Safety1,1291,1311.008988291.08
Education and Training1,3261,3870.961,3291,3231.00
Health Care and Social Assistance1,4921,3691.091,3861,3131.06
Arts and Recreation Services86831.0491911.00
Other Services8147711.066165821.06
Total industries18,71916,3941.1418,57815,8051.18

Source: National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR) ©2024. 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
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RDA Darling Downs and South West Region

economic profile