2016 Census: New South Wales

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MEDIA RELEASE
23 October 2017
134/2017

Census reveals Construction booming in New South Wales


Construction was the fastest growing industry in New South Wales while Sydney residents are the most likely of any capital city to catch public transport to work, reveal latest insights from the 2016 Census of Population and Housing.

The Census recorded that the Construction industry grew by 23 per cent between 2011 and 2016 to become the fourth largest by workforce in the state.

Census Program Manager Bindi Kindermann said the latest Census data contained information on a state-wide scale as well as for local communities.

“From how people get to work, to what they are studying, what their jobs are and where people are moving to, this Census information tells us so much about people’s lives in New South Wales,” Ms Kindermann said.

“So while Construction was the fastest growing of the major industries in the Census in terms of employees, the largest was still Health Care and Social Assistance – covering areas such as aged care, child care and the health sector.

“This industry grew by 16 per cent from 2011 to 2016. Indeed, this was the largest industry by employment nationwide in the Census.

“The Census also recorded that people in Sydney are the most likely of all the capital cities to take public transport to work, with 21 per cent using this option compared to a proportion of 13 per cent for the next placed capital, Melbourne.”

Professionals were the largest broad occupation category in the state and the country recorded in the Census, including areas such as the arts and media, business, design and engineering, science and transport.

The state’s top three fields of study recorded in the Census remained the same from 2011 to 2016: Management and Commerce (784,000 people) followed by Engineering and Related Technologies (514,000) and Society and Culture (413,000).

Society and Culture, which includes subjects such as Political Science, Law and Economics, was the fastest growing field of study over the past five years, with the number of people with qualifications in the area in New South Wales increasing by 27 per cent in the Census.

Census data is available free online. Use one of our easy tools such as QuickStats or Community Profiles to access the latest data for your area or topic of interest.

For more information on New South Wales in the 2016 Census, follow the link to the New South Wales QuickStats page.

Information on Sydney can be found via the following link to the Sydney QuickStats page.


NEW SOUTH WALES


Labour force
2016
2011

Labour force population
3,605,872
3,334,864

Employed persons1
3,380,326
3,138,337
Full time
2,134,521
2,007,927
Part time
1,071,151
939,466

Not in labour force (15 years and over)
2,088,240
1,933,275
18-64 year olds
956,988
933,310

1 – Includes “Employed, away from work”

Note: The Census and Labour Force Survey both collect labour market information however are designed for different purposes and utilise different collection methods.
Differences in the collections mean they are not directly comparable to each other, they are complementary data.


Industry
2016
2011

Top 5 industries

(total employed persons)

1.
Health Care and Social Assistance
422,195
Health Care and Social Assistance
364,321
2.
Retail Trade
326,396
Retail Trade
324,725
3.
Education and Training
282,568
Manufacturing
264,867
4.
Construction
282,491
Education and Training
248,951
5.
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
274,078
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
247,292

Top 3 industries
(growth rate, 2011 to 2016)
1.
Construction 22.8%
2.
Health Care and Social Assistance 15.9%
3.
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services 15.7%



Occupations
2016
2011

Top 3 occupations
(total employed persons)
1.
Professionals
798,126
Professionals
713,549
2.
Clerical and Administrative Workers
467,977
Clerical and Administrative Workers
473,140
3.
Managers
456,084
Managers
418,331

Top 3 occupations
(growth rate, 2011 to 2016)
1.
Community and Personal Service Workers 17.7%
2.
Professionals 11.9%
3.
Labourers 9.1%



Method of Travel to Work
2016
2011

Car (as driver or passenger)
2,098,224
1,964,718

Top 3 other methods
1.
Train 252,786
Train 193,097
2.
Bus 133,903
Walked only 128,342
3.
Walked only 130,957
Bus 116,657

* Single method of travel only


Education
2016
2011

Top 3 fields of study
(total population)
1.
Management and Commerce
783,993
Management and Commerce
647,874
2.
Engineering and Related Technologies
513,835
Engineering and Related Technologies
471,738
3.
Society and Culture
413,253
Society and Culture
325,401

Top 3 fields of study
(18-30 year olds)
1.
Management and Commerce
170,310
Management and Commerce
158,667
2.
Society and Cultures
90,981
Society and Culture
75,501
3.
Engineering and Related Technologies
79,773
Engineering and Related Technologies
69,388

Top 3 fields of study
(growth rate, 2011 to 2016)
1.
Society and Culture 27.0%
2.
Information Technology 24.1%
3.
Creative Arts 22.3%

* Excludes Mixed Field Programmes


Migration
1 year ago
5 years ago

Current residents who lived interstate
74,229
191,673
Current residents who lived overseas
136,936
451,634

Note: All data based on Place of Usual Residence