Employed persons by industry

By virtue of its size and diversity, the New South Wales (NSW) workforce accounts for a significant share of national employment across all industries.

The state enjoys particular strengths in financial and insurance services, with a 42% share of national employment in 2013, as well as:

  • information media and telecommunications (39%)
  • the tourism-related accommodation and food services industry (35%)
  • wholesale trade (34%), and
  • professional, scientific and technical services (33%).

NSW also employs the most people in agriculture, forestry and fishing, with more than 91% of these workers located in regional areas. 

Just under one third of the Australian workforce resides in NSW, while almost two thirds of the state's workers live in the Sydney region. Health care and social assistance is the largest employing industry in both Sydney and regional NSW, followed by:

  • professional, scientific and technical services for Sydney and 
  • retail trade for regional NSW. 

Over the last 10 years, the strongest contributions to the state's employment growth have come from the health care and social assistance, professional, scientific and technical services, and education and training industries.

Employed Persons by Industry, 2013 ('000)
Industry1 Sydney2 Balance of NSW3 Total NSW Australia NSW as a % of Aust
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 7.6 81.2 88.8 317.7 27.9
Mining 10.6 37.5 48.1 268.7 17.9
Manufacturing 187.7 96.2 283.9 936.4 30.3
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services 21.1 22.8 44.0 149.1 29.5
Construction 177.1 107.6 284.7 1,029.7 27.6
Wholesale Trade 110.9 36.2 147.1 427.7 34.4
Retail Trade 241.7 145.4 387.1 1,240.2 31.2
Accommodation and Food Services 166.2 113.0 279.2 792.0 35.3
Transport, Postal and Warehousing 130.9 56.7 187.6 593.1 31.6
Information Media and Telecommunications 67.7 12.0 79.6 206.0 38.7
Financial and Insurance Services 152.2 23.5 175.7 418.6 42.0
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services 44.9 17.5 62.4 197.3 31.6
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 249.1 52.1 301.3 910.1 33.1
Administrative and Support Services 85.0 37.5 122.5 392.3 31.2
Public Administration and Safety 125.9 90.6 216.5 751.2 28.8
Education and Training 181.1 102.8 283.9 905.9 31.3
Health Care and Social Assistance 283.2 162.7 445.8 1,398.8 31.9
Arts and Recreation Services 54.2 14.9 69.1 209.6 33.0
Other Services 92.7 53.3 146.0 467.2 31.3
Total employed 2,389.9 1,263.4 3,653.3 11,611.6 31.5

Footnotes:

  1. Based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006
  2. Sydney Major Statistical Region (MSR) based on the Statistical Region structure of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), 2006
  3. New South Wales excluding the Sydney MSR

Four-quarter averages (year to November quarter 2013) are used to smooth volatility in the quarterly figures

Source: ABS Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003, Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, November 2013