City of Sydney

Employment self-containment

In 2021, 63.5% of the City of Sydney’s resident workers were employed locally.

Self-containment measures the proportion of resident workers who are employed within the boundaries of the Local Government Area or region. It indicates the propensity of residents to seek employment outside the Local Government Area or region in which they live.

Self containment is likely to be higher for regional areas and, 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-containment data should be viewed in conjunction with detailed Residents place of workdata to see where resident workers are accessing employment, along with Jobs to workers ratio data which provides the theoretical number of jobs which could be provided to residents of the City of Sydney in the local area, and is updated annually. 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-containment by Industry
City of Sydney20212016Change
IndustryTotal resident workersResident workers employed in the region% of resident workers employed in the regionTotal resident workersResident workers employed in the region% of resident workers employed in the region2016 - 2021
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing1817742.51676538.9+3.6%
Mining1659859.416211470.4-11.0%
Manufacturing3,1311,09635.02,85694733.2+1.9%
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services64038159.548626053.5+6.0%
Construction5,3902,10539.14,2991,68339.1-0.1%
Wholesale Trade2,8191,21243.02,8071,17041.7+1.3%
Retail Trade8,8965,23558.88,3905,10160.8-1.9%
Accommodation and Food Services10,3836,73464.914,12510,06271.2-6.4%
Transport, Postal and Warehousing4,0691,58238.93,5211,32737.7+1.2%
Information Media and Telecommunications5,2763,46265.65,8134,14071.2-5.6%
Financial and Insurance Services13,01511,61689.310,2728,91586.8+2.5%
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services2,7181,94471.52,4741,76671.4+0.1%
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services23,93819,13879.919,44515,21878.3+1.7%
Administrative and Support Services4,5353,07067.75,0053,43168.6-0.9%
Public Administration and Safety7,0234,26560.76,7424,50866.9-6.1%
Education and Training9,5845,01752.38,7164,83255.4-3.1%
Health Care and Social Assistance11,9045,14243.29,6304,37845.5-2.3%
Arts and Recreation Services3,5352,74677.73,3642,52775.1+2.6%
Other Services3,1791,92760.63,2081,90159.3+1.4%
Industry not classified5,9533,65361.45,2883,28762.2-0.8%
Total Industries126,80980,47863.5117,20675,62264.5-1.1%

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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City of Sydney

economic profile