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2.7 Demographic Analysis
To better understand the characteristics of the local catchment, a demographic analysis has been undertaken using the 2021 ABS Census Data for The Hills Shire.
As of 2021, the Shire was home to a resident workforce of around 101,770 people – that is, people who live in the Shire and are employed – and around 84,157 local jobs. However, of the jobs in the Shire, only 30,075 (or 31%) are filled by residents. Approximately 96% of residents engaged in the labour force are employed. Unemployment in The Hills has historically remained much lower than that of Greater Sydney, though fluctuations in the unemployment rate have followed similar trends.
In terms of jobs in the Shire, the top industries are retail trade, health care and social assistance, construction and professional and technical services. While retail is still one of The Hills biggest employers, as a percentage of overall employment, retail has been decreasing, as has professional and technical services. Health care and social assistance is the fastest growing industry in The Hills. Construction is experiencing a sharp increase related to steady construction of new homes in the North West Growth Area, which is expected to continue in the short term owing to development around Station Precincts and within growth areas.
In terms of the resident workforce, the highest proportions of Hills residents are employed in technical and highly skilled industries including professional and technical services, finance, health care and education. This reflects the comparatively high levels of education attained by Hills residents. Health care and social assistance is the fastest growing industry both for the resident workforce and for local jobs.
The Hills has a predominantly highly educated, highly skilled and highly paid resident workforce. In 2021, The Hills had a larger proportion of high income earners than Greater Sydney, with over 47% of households earning over $3,000 per week. Hills residents also benefit from high levels of education, with over 60% of residents having undertaken some form of higher education and 40.5% of residents having attained a Bachelor degree or higher (compared with 33.4% in Greater Sydney).
It is evident that the jobs currently available within The Hills Shire do not sufficiently align with the knowledge intensive and technical skills of working residents, forcing most working residents to travel outside of The Hills for work.
Aligning Jobs Growth with Demand
There are over 8 jobs within the Shire for every 10 working residents, meaning there is theoretical opportunity for more than 80% of working residents to work within The Hills Shire.
Despite this, the job containment rate is currently just over 30% within The Hills Shire - which means that only 31.2% of the resident workforce works in The Hills Shire. Approximately 65.3% of working residents travel outside of the Shire for work (14.6% travel to Sydney and 10.1% travel to Parramatta). This reflects that the jobs currently available within the Shire are not well-enough aligned with the skills of working residents and means that we are exporting a large proportion of our highly skilled and educated workforce to other Local Government Areas where they participate in knowledge intensive and technical jobs.
From a simple numerical perspective, if Council is to retain this same ratio and quantum of employment opportunities as we experience the projected population growth, then there will be a need for just over 50,000 additional jobs within the Shire by 2036. This quantum and objective are identified within Council’s Local Strategic Planning Statement, and link back to the goals and benefits of the ‘30 minute city’, providing good access to jobs for residents within easy travel from their home.
Taking into account the potential within Strategic Centres, as well as other medium and longer term locations, such as Annangrove Road and Box Hill, there is theoretical capacity more broadly across the Shire to accommodate this growth in employment opportunities, however the key challenges will be to stimulate the take-up of opportunities and delivery of jobs by the market in the short and medium term, and to encourage the delivery of jobs that better align with the skills and education of our residents, particularly a greater proportion of knowledge intensive jobs.
As reflected in the job targets set by the Greater Cities Commission, it is the three Strategic Centres that are critical to achieving these goals and overcoming these challenges, as these are the areas where Council can expect short term economic interest and investment on the back of the Sydney Metro Northwest and delivery of jobs in locations that are well serviced and accessible for residents of the Shire.
These are also the locations which are the most conducive to the delivery and co-location of knowledge intensive jobs, technical jobs and health and education. As a result, both the State and Local strategic planning frameworks establish and reinforce the importance of the Strategic Centres doing the heavy lifting in terms of short to medium term provision of jobs.
When more residents can work locally, commute times and congestion will lessen, helping to meet the vision of Greater Sydney as a 30-minute city. This will encourage a better work-life balance, increased local spending and stronger local communities.”
- Council’s Local Strategic Planning Statement, Hills Future 2036
