Greater Sydney

Employment by industry (FTE)

In Greater Sydney, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services is the largest employer, generating 337,307 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 Greater Sydney.

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 Greater Sydney'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
Greater Sydney2022/232017/18Change
IndustryNumber%. New South WalesNumber%. New South Wales2017/18 - 2022/23
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing10,1530.42.38,4610.42.4+1,692
Mining7,3130.31.27,7110.31.3-398
Manufacturing147,1096.36.4171,8407.77.8-24,730
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services24,1401.01.222,3121.01.1+1,828
Construction190,8768.110.3223,83310.110.5-32,957
Wholesale Trade91,3533.93.398,6224.43.8-7,269
Retail Trade193,8178.38.4175,8267.98.4+17,990
Accommodation and Food Services105,9374.55.3110,0005.05.5-4,063
Transport, Postal and Warehousing143,0176.15.4136,9786.25.7+6,039
Information Media and Telecommunications72,5243.12.279,9033.62.7-7,379
Financial and Insurance Services189,9158.15.9153,7646.95.3+36,151
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services48,0352.01.846,8752.11.9+1,160
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services337,30714.411.0289,78413.010.4+47,523
Administrative and Support Services68,6242.92.966,4163.02.9+2,209
Public Administration and Safety145,4196.26.2116,4755.25.5+28,945
Education and Training179,1607.68.0164,7997.47.8+14,360
Health Care and Social Assistance285,04212.113.5235,60910.611.8+49,433
Arts and Recreation Services34,9841.51.436,5581.61.5-1,574
Other Services73,0463.13.574,8153.43.7-1,769
Total industries2,347,770100.0100.02,220,580100.0100.0+127,190

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
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Dominant groups

An analysis of the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers in Greater Sydney in 2022/23 shows the three largest industries were:

  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (337,307 people or 14.4%)
  • Health Care and Social Assistance (285,042 people or 12.1%)
  • Retail Trade (193,817 people or 8.3%)

In combination these three fields accounted for 816,166 people in total or 34.8% of the local workers.

In comparison, New South Wales employed 11.0% in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services; 13.5% in Health Care and Social Assistance and 8.4% in Retail Trade.

The major differences between the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers of Greater Sydney and New South Wales were:

  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (14.4% compared to 11.0%)
  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Financial and Insurance Services (8.1% compared to 5.9%)
  • A smaller percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Construction (8.1% compared to 10.3%)
  • A smaller percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (0.4% compared to 2.3%)

Emerging groups

The number of full-time equivalent local workers in Greater Sydney increased by increased by 127,190 between 2017/18 and 2022/23.

The largest changes in the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers between 2017/18 and 2022/23 in Greater Sydney were for those employed in:

  • Health Care and Social Assistance (+49,433 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+47,523 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Financial and Insurance Services (+36,151 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Public Administration and Safety (+28,945 full-time equivalent local workers)

Greater Sydney

economic profile