City of Sydney

Employment by industry (Total)

In the City of Sydney, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services is the largest employer, generating 176,168 local jobs in 2022/23.

Employment (total) is the most accurate and up to date measure of the total number of people employed in the City of Sydney. The statistics are modelled by NIEIR to correct for the known undercount of jobs recorded in the Census. They estimate the total number of persons employed in an industry sector (full-time and part-time) in the City of Sydney regardless of where they live. They are updated annually.

By comparing the number of jobs in each industry sector to a regional benchmark, you can clearly see the structure of the City of 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.

Estimated total employment by industry should not be considered as a "Full-Time Equivalent" measure as different industries will have different ratios of part-time and full time employees. Full-time employment by industry statistics are also available.

To see how employment is distributed across the area, see the Employment locations section and to see where people come from to work in these industries, these data should be viewed in conjunction with Workers place of residence by industry data.

More granular sub-categories for each industry sector are available in the Employment by industry (Census) counts. While Census figures undercount employment they do provide a more detailed picture of the specific industries operating in the area.

Data source

National Economics (NIEIR) - Modelled series

Please note – Detailed notes about how the figures are derived can be found in the specific topic notes section.
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Employment (total) by industry
City of Sydney2022/232017/18Change
IndustryNumber%. New South WalesNumber%. New South Wales2017/18 - 2022/23
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing6110.11.97280.12.1-117
Mining2,7960.41.02,7300.41.1+66
Manufacturing10,5541.65.911,7711.97.0-1,217
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services4,9180.71.14,3820.71.0+536
Construction20,3143.09.530,5174.99.4-10,203
Wholesale Trade8,5971.33.012,1462.03.4-3,549
Retail Trade36,4945.59.432,6305.29.7+3,864
Accommodation and Food Services30,3104.56.534,7415.66.7-4,431
Transport, Postal and Warehousing18,7182.85.218,4753.05.3+244
Information Media and Telecommunications33,2785.02.138,3886.22.5-5,110
Financial and Insurance Services139,11220.95.4108,06117.44.9+31,051
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services16,1512.41.715,6172.51.8+533
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services176,16826.410.0145,63623.49.5+30,532
Administrative and Support Services23,1703.53.123,8703.83.2-701
Public Administration and Safety49,9617.56.043,0826.95.5+6,878
Education and Training30,7354.68.335,1725.68.4-4,436
Health Care and Social Assistance36,4955.514.834,0805.513.1+2,415
Arts and Recreation Services15,6012.31.617,2782.81.8-1,677
Other Services12,5061.93.513,3862.13.7-880
Total industries666,490100.0100.0622,692100.0100.0+43,798

Source: National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR) ©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 local workers in the City of Sydney in 2022/23 shows the three largest industries were:

  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (176,168 people or 26.4%)
  • Financial and Insurance Services (139,112 people or 20.9%)
  • Public Administration and Safety (49,961 people or 7.5%)

In combination these three industries accounted for 365,241 people in total or 54.8% of the local workers.

In comparison, New South Wales employed 10.0% in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services; 5.4% in Financial and Insurance Services and 6.0% in Public Administration and Safety.

The major differences between the jobs held by local workers of the City of Sydney and New South Wales were:

  • A larger percentage of local workers employed in the field of Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (26.4% compared to 10.0%)
  • A larger percentage of local workers employed in the field of Financial and Insurance Services (20.9% compared to 5.4%)
  • A smaller percentage of local workers employed in the field of Health Care and Social Assistance (5.5% compared to 14.8%)
  • A smaller percentage of local workers employed in the field of Construction (3.0% compared to 9.5%)

Emerging groups

The number of local workers in the City of Sydney increased by 43,798 between 2017/18 and 2022/23.

  • Financial and Insurance Services (+31,051 local workers)
  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+30,532 local workers)
  • Public Administration and Safety (+6,878 local workers)
  • Retail Trade (+3,864 local workers)

City of Sydney

economic profile