City of Adelaide

Employment by industry (FTE)

In the City of Adelaide, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services is the largest employer, generating 24,012 FTE jobs in 2021/22.

Full-time equivalent (FTE) employment is modelled by NIEIR and takes into account differences in hours worked between industry sectors. It is a measure that allows direct comparison of employment between industries in the City of Adelaide.

Typically, industries such as Retail Trade and Accommodation and Food Services, which employ many part-time workers, have lower FTE employment than total employment.

FTE employment is calculated directly by dividing the total hours worked in each industry by 38. By comparing the number of full-time equivalent jobs in each industry sector to a regional benchmark, you can clearly see the structure of the City of Adelaide's economy. This can be done by directly comparing the area to its benchmark, or by using a location quotient to look at the relative size of industries.

FTE employment should be viewed in conjunction with Employment by industry (Total) and Employment by industry (Census), for a full understanding of the industry breakdown in the area. Worker productivity data shows the value of a worker in each industry to the local economy. Employment locations shows where employment is taking place in each industry sector.

Data source

National Economics (NIEIR) - Modelled series

Please note: FTE employment is derived from Census data but has been corrected for the known undercount of employment in the Census. Detailed notes about how the figures are derived can be found in thespecific topic notes section.
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Full-time equivalent employment by industry sector
City of Adelaide2021/222016/17Change
IndustryNumber%. South AustraliaNumber%. South Australia2016/17 - 2021/22
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing2090.24.41580.15.2+50
Mining1,6341.22.01,7601.51.9-126
Manufacturing1,4641.18.81,3601.210.0+104
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services2,6692.01.52,2962.01.6+373
Construction5,4474.19.75,0624.48.8+385
Wholesale Trade1,3031.02.81,6311.43.1-328
Retail Trade4,6413.58.25,6924.99.6-1,051
Accommodation and Food Services7,0695.45.06,8505.95.0+219
Transport, Postal and Warehousing1,7871.44.72,1641.95.2-377
Information Media and Telecommunications4,7003.61.34,5393.91.4+161
Financial and Insurance Services11,7348.93.29,6838.42.8+2,052
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services2,2021.71.42,3562.01.7-154
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services24,01218.27.717,53715.16.5+6,475
Administrative and Support Services4,0993.13.23,9313.43.2+167
Public Administration and Safety23,15717.67.220,17317.47.1+2,984
Education and Training10,6768.18.69,6498.38.2+1,027
Health Care and Social Assistance19,88615.115.215,71813.613.3+4,168
Arts and Recreation Services2,6772.01.12,9102.51.4-232
Other Services2,3261.84.02,3512.04.0-25
Total industries131,692100.0100.0115,820100.0100.0+15,873

Source: National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR) ©2023. ©2023. Compiled and presented in economy.id by .id (informed decisions). NIEIR-ID data are adjusted each year, using updated employment estimates. Each release may change previous years’ figures. Learn more

Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Did you know? By clicking/tapping on a category in the chart below you will be able to drilldown to the sub categories.
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Dominant groups

An analysis of the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers in the City of Adelaide in 2021/22 shows the three largest industries were:

  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (24,012 people or 18.2%)
  • Public Administration and Safety (23,157 people or 17.6%)
  • Health Care and Social Assistance (19,886 people or 15.1%)

In combination these three fields accounted for 67,055 people in total or 50.9% of the local workers.

In comparison, South Australia employed 7.7% in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services; 7.2% in Public Administration and Safety and 15.2% in Health Care and Social Assistance.

The major differences between the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers of the City of Adelaide and South Australia were:

  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (18.2% compared to 7.7%)
  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Public Administration and Safety (17.6% compared to 7.2%)
  • A smaller percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Manufacturing (1.1% compared to 8.8%)
  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Financial and Insurance Services (8.9% compared to 3.2%)

Emerging groups

The number of full-time equivalent local workers in the City of Adelaide increased by increased by 15,873 between 2016/17 and 2021/22.

The largest changes in the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers between 2016/17 and 2021/22 in the City of Adelaide were for those employed in:

  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+6,475 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Health Care and Social Assistance (+4,168 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Public Administration and Safety (+2,984 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Financial and Insurance Services (+2,052 full-time equivalent local workers)

City of Adelaide

economic profile