Understanding the economic role of Sunshine Coast Council provides a framework for understanding what policy responses and investment may be appropriate to support the growth of businesses and maintenance of a vibrant economy in the future.
The charts and table below give a broad overview of the role and function of your economy. It helps answer questions such as:
- How much of Sunshine Coast's economy is driven by meeting the local population needs?
- What proportion of jobs in the area are in goods production or selling of products?
- In which broad sectors are the key strengths of the local economy?
- What contribution do business services make in your area and is it growing?
- Is there a presence of local, state and federal government workers in in the area?
Once you have developed a broad picture of your economy, you can then drill down further with all the detail here.

Employment composition | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sunshine Coast | 2024 | 2019 | 2014 | |||
Industry | number | % | number | % | number | % |
Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 3,004 | 1.7 | 3,174 | 2.2 | 2,450 | 2.1 |
Mining | 645 | 0.4 | 404 | 0.3 | 444 | 0.4 |
Goods related | 61,260 | 33.7 | 51,454 | 35.7 | 43,684 | 37.9 |
Household services | 81,073 | 44.6 | 60,710 | 42.1 | 44,939 | 39.0 |
Business services | 29,632 | 16.3 | 22,752 | 15.8 | 18,848 | 16.4 |
Public administration and safety | 6,316 | 3.5 | 5,614 | 3.9 | 4,816 | 4.2 |
Total Industries | 181,931 | 100.0 | 144,109 | 100.0 | 115,182 | 100.0 |
Source: National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR) ©2025. Compiled and presented in economy.id by .id (informed decisions). Data are based on a 2020-21 price base for all years. NIEIR-ID data are inflation adjusted each year to allow direct comparison, and annual data releases adjust previous years’ figures to a new base year.Learn more. Please refer to specific data notes for more information |