Construction and Finance powering The Hills economy

The Hills Shire Council, in North-West Sydney, have recently subscribed to economy.id, our online economic profile. This profile shows the size and makeup of the economy and the workforce in The Hills, and how they are changing over time.  This Hills Shire (formerly knows as Baulkham Hills Shire) is one of Sydney’s largest growth areas – read on to see what economy.id shows about their growth.

The Hills Shire  is one of Sydney’s largest growth areas, not just in population terms, but also in economic terms. The NorWest business park is driving growth, and many financial and insurance companies are making it their home and providing a large amount of employment in the North West.

Between 2001 and 2010, The Hills Shire population grew by nearly 35,000 people, or around 24%. The economy in this time actually grew faster than that, up 31.5% over 9 years. In 2010, the Gross Product (total value of economic activity in the area) was just over $6.5 billion, and with the relatively high value industries in the area, this represents over $80,000 per worker, higher than the Sydney and NSW averages.

The main driver of this growth is the NorWest business park, which is expanding rapidly. The largest industries in The Hills in 2001 were Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, and Manufacturing. By 2010, growth in Finance and Insurance had overtaken these two to become the largest industry, worth $941 billion and accounting for 16.7% of The Hills’ economic output. In contrast, Manufacturing, while still increasing in dollar terms, declined from 12.0% to 11.4% of output in the same timeframe.

Finance and insurance now employs over 3,000 people in The Hills, more than double the number 10 years ago.

The growth in finance and insurance is due to the establishement of large offices of the Reserve Bank of Australia, AAMI Insurance and other banking institutions in NorWest. Woolworths head office is also in this area.

Other interesting information about The Hills economy:

• The Hills is home to nearly 19,000 businesses, including 73 businesses with more than 100 employees.
• There is a total workforce of over 63,000 people, or 55,000 Full-Time equivalent workers.
• Less than 3% of The Hills workforce took public transport to work, but 8% worked from home (twice the Sydney average).
• The Hills’ workforce is both older and younger than workers across Sydney, with more 15-24 year olds and also more aged 55+.
• 36% of The Hills workers worked part-time compard to 30% of across Sydney.
• The workforce in The Hills is slightly female dominated (52%).
• Around 46% of The Hills workers live in The Hills but only 28% of employed residents work in The Hills.
• Self-containment is highest for Retail Trade and Agriculture, and lowest for Electricity Gas and Water Supply.
• The Hills strategic location within Western Sydney means that a business locating there has access to a total labour pool of over 420,000 people.

The Hills economy.id site is a publically accessible resource, at: http://www.id.com.au/economy/thehills

To view all other economy .id sites in Australia, click here.

.id is a team of demographers, population forecasters, spatial planners, urban economists, and data experts who use a unique combination of online tools and consulting to help governments and organisations understand their local areas. Access our free demographic resources here