Employed persons by occupation
Sydney is Australia's business and financial capital, and its only global city. As such, Sydney has the highest concentration of managers and professionals of any state capital city in Australia, with 40% of the city's workforce employed in these occupations.
New South Wales (NSW) boasts the largest number (1.4 million people) and second-largest concentration (38.3%) of knowledge workers, defined here as managers, professionals and technicians (engineering, ICT and science), of all Australian states.
Almost one third of Australian employment across these occupational groups was located in the state in 2013. While concentrated in Sydney, regional NSW also accounts for significant employment in these occupations, plus large numbers of trades workers and machinery operators and drivers.
| Occupation1 | Sydney2 | Balance of NSW3 | Total NSW | Australia | NSW % of Aust |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Managers | 318.8 | 170.3 | 489.1 | 1,484.1 | 33.0 |
| Professionals | 634.4 | 204.9 | 839.4 | 2,559.9 | 32.8 |
| Technicians and Trades Workers | 299.4 | 202.2 | 501.6 | 1,698.7 | 29.5 |
| Community and Personal Service Workers | 228.8 | 139.5 | 368.2 | 1,153.3 | 31.9 |
| Clerical and Administrative Workers | 374.6 | 165.0 | 539.5 | 1,691.2 | 31.9 |
| Sales Workers | 223.0 | 118.8 | 341.9 | 1,092.3 | 31.3 |
| Machinery Operators and Drivers | 129.6 | 106.0 | 235.5 | 783.5 | 30.1 |
| Labourers | 181.5 | 156.7 | 338.2 | 1,148.4 | 29.4 |
| Total employed | 2,389.9 | 1,263.4 | 3,653.3 | 11,611.6 | 31.5 |
Footnotes:
Four-quarter averages (year to November quarter 2013) are used to smooth volatility in the quarterly figures
- Based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), 2006
- Sydney Major Statistical Region (MSR) based on the Statistical Region structure of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), 2006
- New South Wales excluding the Sydney MSR
Source: ABS Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003, Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, November 2013