City of Sydney

Employment by industry (FTE)

In the City of Sydney, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services is the largest employer, generating 168,696 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 the City of 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 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.

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:
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Full-time equivalent employment by industry sector
City of Sydney2022/232017/18Change
IndustryNumber%. New South WalesNumber%. New South Wales2017/18 - 2022/23
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing5510.12.36460.12.4-95
Mining2,7310.51.22,6280.51.3+104
Manufacturing10,0381.76.411,2982.07.8-1,260
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services4,6270.81.24,2330.71.1+394
Construction18,3803.010.329,0835.110.5-10,702
Wholesale Trade8,0511.33.311,6452.13.8-3,594
Retail Trade30,6845.18.426,5834.78.4+4,101
Accommodation and Food Services23,3833.95.327,8054.95.5-4,422
Transport, Postal and Warehousing16,4462.75.416,8093.05.7-363
Information Media and Telecommunications30,5765.12.236,2216.42.7-5,644
Financial and Insurance Services131,88521.85.9101,60418.05.3+30,281
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services15,2402.51.815,1862.71.9+55
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services168,69627.911.0140,72924.910.4+27,967
Administrative and Support Services19,6703.32.920,3883.62.9-718
Public Administration and Safety44,3787.36.237,3906.65.5+6,988
Education and Training25,8864.38.028,7635.17.8-2,877
Health Care and Social Assistance30,1475.013.528,0765.011.8+2,070
Arts and Recreation Services12,6302.11.414,8272.61.5-2,196
Other Services10,5161.73.511,5842.03.7-1,067
Total industries604,517100.0100.0565,497100.0100.0+39,020

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 the City of Sydney in 2022/23 shows the three largest industries were:

  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (168,696 people or 27.9%)
  • Financial and Insurance Services (131,885 people or 21.8%)
  • Public Administration and Safety (44,378 people or 7.3%)

In combination these three fields accounted for 344,958 people in total or 57.1% of the local workers.

In comparison, New South Wales employed 11.0% in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services; 5.9% in Financial and Insurance Services and 6.2% in Public Administration and Safety.

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

  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (27.9% compared to 11.0%)
  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Financial and Insurance Services (21.8% compared to 5.9%)
  • A smaller percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Health Care and Social Assistance (5.0% compared to 13.5%)
  • A smaller percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Construction (3.0% compared to 10.3%)

Emerging groups

The number of full-time equivalent local workers in the City of Sydney increased by increased by 39,020 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 the City of Sydney were for those employed in:

  • Financial and Insurance Services (+30,281 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+27,967 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Public Administration and Safety (+6,988 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Retail Trade (+4,101 full-time equivalent local workers)

City of Sydney

economic profile