Sunshine Coast

Employment by industry (FTE)

In Sunshine Coast, Health Care and Social Assistance is the largest employer, generating 26,029 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 Sunshine Coast.

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 Sunshine Coast'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.
Current benchmark:
Comparison year:
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Full-time equivalent employment by industry sector
Sunshine Coast2022/232017/18Change
IndustryNumber%. QueenslandNumber%. Queensland2017/18 - 2022/23
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing2,6461.92.82,4742.23.2+172
Mining6710.53.14430.43.1+227
Manufacturing8,3676.17.07,1986.47.7+1,169
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services1,2230.91.41,0951.01.4+127
Construction19,55214.311.118,72716.711.1+824
Wholesale Trade2,9232.12.82,5882.33.1+335
Retail Trade12,1888.97.910,9809.88.7+1,209
Accommodation and Food Services8,6036.35.47,7296.95.9+873
Transport, Postal and Warehousing4,7643.55.84,4924.06.2+272
Information Media and Telecommunications1,3911.01.01,4031.31.4-12
Financial and Insurance Services5,3583.92.83,6693.32.7+1,689
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services2,7582.01.82,5922.32.0+167
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services9,3806.98.16,5625.87.1+2,818
Administrative and Support Services4,1573.03.03,6483.33.1+509
Public Administration and Safety5,1583.86.84,5274.06.8+631
Education and Training12,7439.38.710,2149.18.4+2,529
Health Care and Social Assistance26,02919.014.817,28615.412.6+8,743
Arts and Recreation Services2,7122.01.42,1631.91.5+549
Other Services6,1354.54.14,4414.04.1+1,694
Total industries136,758100.0100.0112,232100.0100.0+24,526

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 Sunshine Coast in 2022/23 shows the three largest industries were:

  • Health Care and Social Assistance (26,029 people or 19.0%)
  • Construction (19,552 people or 14.3%)
  • Education and Training (12,743 people or 9.3%)

In combination these three fields accounted for 58,324 people in total or 42.6% of the local workers.

In comparison, Queensland employed 14.8% in Health Care and Social Assistance; 11.1% in Construction and 8.7% in Education and Training.

The major differences between the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers of Sunshine Coast and Queensland were:

  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Health Care and Social Assistance (19.0% compared to 14.8%)
  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Construction (14.3% compared to 11.1%)
  • A smaller percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Public Administration and Safety (3.8% compared to 6.8%)
  • A smaller percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Mining (0.5% compared to 3.1%)

Emerging groups

The number of full-time equivalent local workers in Sunshine Coast increased by increased by 24,526 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 Sunshine Coast were for those employed in:

  • Health Care and Social Assistance (+8,743 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+2,818 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Education and Training (+2,529 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Other Services (+1,694 full-time equivalent local workers)

Sunshine Coast Council

economic profile