Greater Sydney

Businesses by industry

The Construction industry had the largest number of total registered businesses in Greater Sydney, comprising 16.3% of all total registered businesses, compared to 17.1% in New South Wales.

Registered business by industry shows how many businesses there are Greater Sydney within each industry sector using the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Business Register which itself is derived from the GST register held by the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Businesses are included if they are registered with the ATO, with an ABN used within the previous two financial years. Businesses are split up between employing and non-employing businesses. Non-employing businesses may include sole traders and registered ABNs which are part of larger enterprises.

The distribution of businesses may reflect the industry structure of the area, or may differ significantly. For instance, the largest industry in an area may consist of one very large business, with a large number of employees, while a sector with a lower value added could have a lot of small and micro businesses.

The number of businesses in Greater Sydney should be viewed in conjunction with Employment by industry (Total) and Value added datasets to see the relative size of industries, and with Employment locations data to see where business employment occurs within the area.

Data source

Australian Bureau of Statistics – Business register – originally sourced from ATO data

Please note that data within the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Counts of Australian Business is subject to perturbation for confidentiality reasons. The ABS randomises LGA business counts for industries or totals between 1 and 3. If no counts are recorded, zero will be shown. If 3 or more, the number will be shown. This perturbation means sub-totals may not add up to high-level totals.
Number of employees:
Current area:
Comparison year:
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Registered businesses by industry
Greater Sydney - total registered businesses20242023change
IndustryNumber%. % New South WalesNumber%. % New South Wales2023 to 2024
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing4,5520.85.94,6010.85.9-49
Mining7240.10.27100.10.2+14
Manufacturing18,1713.03.218,0603.13.2+111
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services1,7820.30.31,7140.30.3+68
Construction98,58816.317.195,75416.417.1+2,834
Wholesale Trade22,5063.73.322,3973.83.3+109
Retail Trade34,8485.85.734,4525.95.7+396
Accommodation and Food Services24,1914.04.223,6054.04.2+586
Transport, Postal and Warehousing55,9739.38.051,6948.88.0+4,279
Information Media and Telecommunications7,9911.31.17,9941.41.1-3
Financial and Insurance Services41,4846.95.639,2196.75.6+2,265
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services74,86212.411.372,41512.411.3+2,447
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services97,36116.114.094,57716.214.0+2,784
Administrative and Support Services29,5244.94.628,7544.94.6+770
Public Administration and Safety2,1160.30.32,0690.40.3+47
Education and Training10,9941.81.710,6941.81.7+300
Health Care and Social Assistance44,5337.47.441,8387.27.4+2,695
Arts and Recreation Services8,9001.51.58,7191.51.5+181
Other Services25,2094.24.624,5004.24.6+709
Industry not classified4280.10.14400.10.1-12
Total Businesses604,733100.0100.0584,203100.0100.0+20,530

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits. Note: Non-employing businesses includes sole proprietors where the proprietor does not receive a wage or salary separate to the business income. .id (informed decisions)

Please refer to specific data notes for more information
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Greater Sydney

economic profile