City of Adelaide

Employment by industry (Census)

Health Care and Social Assistance is the largest employer in the City of Adelaide, making up 17.2% of total employment.

Census employment data presents the number of persons employed in each industry sector (full-time and part-time) in the City of Adelaide regardless of where they live. By comparing the number of jobs in each industry sector to a regional benchmark, you can clearly see local economic strengths and weaknesses. By looking at how the number of jobs in each industry is changing over time, you can track how the structure of the local economy is changing. Go to the Employment locations page to see where employment is taking place across the City of Adelaide.

Note: Census employment figures are known to undercount employment by varying amounts depending on the Census year. All Census counts are an undercount of total population, and in addition, some people don’t state their workforce status or industry. Also counts by place of work exclude those with no fixed workplace address. For this reason, it is recommended that for total job numbers, users look at the Employment by industry (Total) modelled estimates which are updated on an annual basis, and based on the ABS Labour Force survey, less prone to undercount. The Census counts by industry are included here for a greater level of industry detail (3-digit ANZSIC).

Data source

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2016 & 2021 – by place of work

Current benchmark:
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Employment (Census) by industry sector
City of Adelaide20212016Change
IndustryNumber%. South AustraliaNumber%. South Australia2016 - 2021
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing2240.23.81670.14.0+57
Mining1,3601.01.31,2321.01.2+128
Manufacturing1,2691.07.21,0580.98.0+211
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services2,1361.61.31,9911.71.2+145
Construction3,4972.78.33,4783.07.6+19
Wholesale Trade1,0460.82.31,4291.22.8-383
Retail Trade5,4974.29.76,5035.510.7-1,006
Accommodation and Food Services9,4147.26.69,3528.06.7+62
Transport, Postal and Warehousing1,7341.34.11,8351.64.1-101
Information Media and Telecommunications3,4782.71.03,9973.41.3-519
Financial and Insurance Services10,5908.12.79,6528.22.7+938
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services1,9911.51.21,9201.61.3+71
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services19,39414.96.114,50212.35.5+4,892
Administrative and Support Services4,3333.33.83,7423.23.6+591
Public Administration and Safety22,03016.96.620,78917.77.1+1,241
Education and Training11,2718.68.810,2038.78.7+1,068
Health Care and Social Assistance22,36817.216.418,10815.414.8+4,260
Arts and Recreation Services3,1022.41.42,7022.31.4+400
Other Services2,5642.03.92,4572.13.9+107
Industry not classified3,0972.43.32,5022.13.3+595
Total persons130,404100.0100.0117,619100.0100.0+12,785

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
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 local workers in the City of Adelaide in 2021 shows the three most popular industry sectors were:

  • Health Care and Social Assistance (22,368 people or 17.2%)
  • Public Administration and Safety (22,030 people or 16.9%)
  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (19,394 people or 14.9%)

In combination these three fields accounted for 63,792 people in total or 48.9% of the local workers.

In comparison, South Australia employed 16.4% in Health Care and Social Assistance; 6.6% in Public Administration and Safety and 6.1% in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services.

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

  • A larger percentage of local workers employed in the field of Public Administration and Safety (16.9% compared to 6.6%)
  • A larger percentage of local workers employed in the field of Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (14.9% compared to 6.1%)
  • A smaller percentage of local workers employed in the field of Manufacturing (1.0% compared to 7.2%)
  • A smaller percentage of local workers employed in the field of Construction (2.7% compared to 8.3%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the jobs held by local workers between 2016 and 2021 in the City of Adelaide were for those employed in:

  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+4,892 local workers)
  • Health Care and Social Assistance (+4,260 local workers)
  • Public Administration and Safety (+1,241 local workers)
  • Education and Training (+1,068 local workers)

City of Adelaide

economic profile