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City of SydneyCommunity profile

City of Sydney

Occupation of employment

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There were more people in low income households who worked as professionals in the City of Sydney than any other occupation.

The City of Sydney's occupation statistics quantify the occupations in which the residents work (which may be within the residing area or elsewhere). This topic is restricted to those counted in low income households in City of Sydney, with comparisons to the total population or low income households in the benchmark area.

The occupations of low income households may be similar to or quite different to those of the total population. In many cases it may be that lower incomes are correlated with lower skilled occupations (eg. labourers), however this is not always the case and in many parts of Australia, "blue-collar" occupations earn quite high incomes (eg. mining areas). If there appears to be no correlation between low skilled occupations and low incomes, it may be that low incomes are correlated with those not in the labour force (e.g. retirees, students, discouraged jobseekers) who are not included in this topic.

To build up the complete story, please view this topic in conjunction with Age Structure, Qualifications and Employment Status.

Q:

Derived from the two Census questions:

'In the main job held last week, what was the person's occupation?' and 'What are the main tasks that the person himself/herself usually performs in that occupation?'

Occupation of employment
City of Sydney - Low income households20212016Change
OccupationNumber%Greater SydneyNumber%Greater Sydney2016 to 2021
Managers2077.37.83686.67.1-161
Professionals61921.912.998017.611.4-361
Technicians and Trades Workers2539.012.158710.514.6-334
Community and Personal Service Workers47816.915.11,17621.114.3-698
Clerical and Administrative Workers29810.611.056010.110.7-262
Sales Workers43215.313.481514.613.6-383
Machinery Operators And Drivers1224.39.22003.69.7-78
Labourers31811.314.672113.015.3-403
Not stated or inadequately described963.43.91592.93.2-63
Total employed persons in low income households2,823100.0100.05,566100.0100.0-2,743
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions).
Please refer to specific data notes for more information

Dominant groups

An analysis of the jobs held by the people in low income households in City of Sydney in 2021 shows the three most popular occupations were:

  • Professionals (619 persons or 21.9%)
  • Community and Personal Service Workers (478 persons or 16.9%)
  • Sales Workers (432 persons or 15.3%)

In combination these three occupations accounted for 1,529 people in total or 54.2% of the employed people in low income households.

In comparison, Greater Sydney employed 12.9% in Professionals; 15.1% in Community and Personal Service Workers; and 13.4% in Sales Workers.

The major differences between the jobs held by people in low income households of the City of Sydney and Greater Sydney were:

  • A larger percentage of people employed as Professionals (21.9% compared to 12.9%)
  • A smaller percentage of people employed as Machinery Operators And Drivers (4.3% compared to 9.2%)
  • A smaller percentage of people employed as Labourers (11.3% compared to 14.6%)
  • A smaller percentage of people employed as Technicians and Trades Workers (9.0% compared to 12.1%)

Emerging groups

The number of employed people in low income households in City of Sydney decreased by 2,743 between 2016 and 2021.

The largest changes in the occupations of people in low income households between 2016 and 2021 in the City of Sydney were for those employed as:

  • Community and Personal Service Workers (-698 persons)
  • Labourers (-403 persons)
  • Sales Workers (-383 persons)
  • Professionals (-361 persons)

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