ECONOMIC PROFILE
Employment
As Figure 49 indicates, compared with the rest of NSW, the Northern Rivers has higher proportions
of people employed in community and personal services (12.5% NR vs. 9.7% NSW); sales workers
(12.0% NR vs. 9.5% NSW) and labourers (11.3% NR vs. 8.7% NSW) and lower proportions of people
employed in professional (19.3% NR vs. 23.3% NSW) and clerical occupations (13.3% NR vs. 15.4%
NSW).
Figure 49 – Employment by occupation 2011
25.0%
% working population
Northern Rivers
NSW
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
Managers
Professionals
Technicians
and Trades
Workers
Community Clerical and Sales Workers Machinery
and Personal Administrative
Operators and
Service
Workers
Drivers
Workers
Labourers
Occupation
Place of work population (source ABS 2012)
According to the Census of Population and Housing, in 2011 there were 90,817 jobs in the Northern
Rivers. Figure 50 shows the region’s jobs profile is dominated by the services sector, namely health
care and social assistance (17.1% NR vs. 12.4% NSW), retail trade (15.0% NR vs. 11.1% NSW),
education and training (10.5% NR vs. 8.5% NSW) and accommodation and food services (10.0% NR
vs. 7.2% NSW). Other industries which account for a large share of the region’s employment include
manufacturing (7.6%) and construction (6.5%).
The mining sector employed smallest proportion of people in the region (0.2%) and there were also
low rates of employment in the following sectors:




electricity, water and gas (1.0% NR vs. 1.2% NSW);
information, media and telecommunications (1.3% NR vs. 2.5% NSW) ;
financial and insurance services (2.0% NR vs. 5.4% NSW); and
professional, scientific and technical services (4.8% NR vs. 8.4% NSW).
Figure 50 – Employment by industry 2011
% of Working Population
18.0
16.0
14.0
Northern Rivers
NSW
12.0
10.0
8.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
Industry
A closer look at the profile of the working population in each Northern Rivers LGA reveals some
points of difference:



The strong visitor economy profile of Byron Shire is reflected in the prominence of the
accommodation, food service and retail which, combined, account for 31% of employment by
industry.
In Kyogle agriculture, forestry and fishing account for 22% of employment, while in the
Richmond Valley, where the Casino meatworks is a large employer, manufacturing accounts for
20% of total employment, of which 75% is attributed to food manufacturing.
Reflecting their roles as service centres, there are a high proportion of jobs in education and
training in Lismore (13%) and Ballina (10%). Health care and social assistance accounts for 23%
of employment in Lismore and 19% of total employment in Tweed.
Employment trends
Between 2006 and 2011 the region experienced some changes in the labour market. Figure 51
illustrates growth between 2001 and 2011 in:



health care and social assistance (3.9% increase in the number of employees);
education and training sector (+0.6%);
accommodation and food services (+0.5%).
During this period, employment in retail trade, agriculture and manufacturing declined by 5.0%,
3.2% and 1.7% respectively. Between 2001 and 2006 construction and public administration and
safety showed strong growth (RDA-NR, 2009) however both these sectors showed a decline
between 2006 and 2011.
Figure 51 – Employment by Industry 2001, 2006 and 2011
% of Working Population
25
20
15
10
5
0
2001
2006
2011
Place of work population (source: ABS 2001, ABS 2006 and ABS 2012)
Recruitment rates calculated by DEEWR (2012b) provide another indication of local employment
trends. Since March 2010 these rates have fallen in the Richmond-Tweed and Clarence Valley areas
and they were lower in comparison to other all regions surveyed to March 2012. There was also a
large decrease in the proportion of employers recruiting to increase staff numbers, and a larger
proportion of employers recruiting simply to replace staff.
The region experiences significant commuting flows to South East Queensland (SEQ), represented by
6,327 residents from the Tweed LGA and 278 other residents from Lismore, Casino and Ballina
surrounds regularly commuting to SEQ for employment (BITRE 2013).
Business profile
Figure 52 shows that, of the total number of businesses in the Northern Rivers in 2012, 64.2% were
non-employing (vs. 59.3% for NSW), 21.6% employed 1-4 people (26.2% for NSW) and just 14.2% of
businesses employed five or more staff (14.5% for NSW). At 74.5%, Kyogle had the largest average
number of businesses who did not employ staff in 2012.
Figure 52 – Businesses by number of employees 2012
80%
% total businesses
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Ballina
Byron
Non employing
Clarence
Valley
Kyogle
1-4 employees
Lismore
Richmond
Valley
5-19 employees
Tweed
Northern
Rivers
NSW
20 or more employees
(source: ABS 2013b)
Figure 53 shows that agriculture, forestry and fishing accounts for the highest number of businesses
in our region at 4,866 or 18.7% of all businesses (vs. 8.7% in NSW). This is followed by construction
at 4,289 or 16.5% (14.9% NSW); rental, hiring and real estate services at 2,347 or 9.0% (10.6 NSW);
and professional, scientific and technical services at 2,144 or 8.3% (12.7% NSW). This differs
significantly from the region’s employment profile (Figure 50 above), in which the majority of people
are employed in health care and social assistance (17.1%); retail trade (15.0%); education and
training (10.5%); and accommodation and food services (10.0%).
% total businesses
Figure 53 – Businesses by industry sector 2012
20%
18%
16%
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
Northern Rivers
Industry sector
(source: ABS 2013b)
NSW
Between 2007 and 2011, the total number of businesses in the Northern decreased by 975 from
29,454 to 28,479. 408 of these (41.8%) were in the Tweed (Figure 54) which has the most
businesses in the region of any LGA. The Clarence Valley and Lismore LGAs also had significant
business exits at 22.4% and 21.1% respectively. There was growth in the number of businesses in
Byron Shire (45 new businesses) and while Kyogle has the fewest businesses in the region, the sector
was stable there with only six business exits.
Figure 54 – Number of businesses 2007-2011
8000
Number of Businesses
7000
Ballina
6000
Byron
5000
Clarence Valley
4000
Kyogle
3000
Lismore
2000
Richmond Valley
Tweed
1000
0
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
(source: ABS 2012b)
Figure 55 shows that the number of employees within businesses has remained fairly stable.
Between 2007 and 2011, non-employing businesses showed a slight increase (1.0%), while
businesses with 1-4 employees decreased by 0.8% and those with five or more employees decreased
by 0.3%.
Figure 55 – Businesses by employment size 2007-2011
70
% of total businesses
60
Non-employing businesses
50
40
Employing businesses: 1-4
employees
30
Employing businesses: 5 or more
employees
20
10
0
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
(source: ABS 2012b)
Industry location quotients / specialisations
Location quotient analysis is a useful indicator of the Northern Rivers’ inter-regional export
propensity and competitiveness or relative specialisation compared to the rest of non-metropolitan
New South Wales. The location quotient is derived by comparing the proportion of jobs in each
industry sector in the region with the proportion of jobs in the same sector in the rest of nonmetropolitan NSW. A location quotient greater than 1.0 indicates an over-representation of jobs in
that sector, suggesting the proportion of those jobs that is being generated by export (non-local)
demand.
Comparing the Northern Rivers to the non-metropolitan NSW averages, it is evident the region’s
industry specialisations are in the community services sectors, notably, health care and social
assistance and education and training (Figure 56). The region also displays relative specialisations in
the personal services sectors, including rental, hiring and real estate services, retail trade and
accommodation and food services. The Northern Rivers also has a relative specialisation in the
information, media and telecommunications sector.
Figure 56 – Location quotient by industry 2011
1.60
1.40
Location Quotient
1.20
1.00
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
Place of work population (source: ABS 2001, ABS 2006 and ABS 2012)
A closer look at the region’s industry sub-sectors reveals the Northern Rivers has a diverse mix of
industry specialisations. Figure 57 shows employment location quotients by industry at a finer-grain
level by using the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2-digit ANZSIC industry classifications. These are
‘sub-sectors’ of the standard and more broadly-defined industries referred to earlier. Figure 49 only
shows those industry sub-sectors with a high location quotient of 1.3 or higher. They include a mix of
industry activities across the manufacturing, retail, personal services and community services
sectors, particularly health-related services including hospitals, medical and other health care
services and residential care services.
The region shows a relative specialisation across a diversity of manufacturing activities including
wood product manufacturing and textiles, clothing and footwear production. The strength of the
region’s agriculture and food production sector is evident in the high location quotient of 1.57 for
food product manufacturing.
The Northern Rivers’ creative industries sector is well-represented by the publishing industry with a
high location quotient of 1.43, while the region’s creative and performing arts activities sub-sector
also displays a high location quotient (1.28) relative to non-metropolitan NSW.
Figure 57 – Location quotient by industry sub-sectors 2011
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
Place of work population (source: ABS 2001, ABS 2006 and ABS 2012)
Industry growth and share
To understand how the Northern Rivers industry sectors are performing, a comparison of relative
size, growth and employment share can be used to create the growth-share matrix in Figure 58. This
highlights how each of the Northern Rivers’ industry sectors (as defined by the ABS 1-digit ANZSIC
classifications) differs from the rest of non-metropolitan New South Wales in terms of relative size,
growth and employment share. Stages shown in the matrix are as follows:


expanding: Industries in the top right quadrant have high average annual growth and/or higher
than average concentration as defined by the industry’s location quotient. This is excellent
news, implying a strong, adaptive industry sector.
emerging: Industries in the lower right quadrant have high average annual growth/below
average concentration but this is also good news, implying an emerging, growing industry that
may mature with assistance.

transforming: Industries in the upper left quadrant have lower than average annual
growth/above average concentration, which is not good news, implying the industry is at risk
(overall) and needs to increase innovation and productivity to compete with other regions.
seed or transitioning: Industries in the lower left quadrant have lower than average annual
growth/lower than average concentration, which could imply that the industry is neither
developed nor growing in the region. It could also mean it is a ‘seed’ industry with some
potential for growth.

Figure 58 illustrates where selected industry sectors in the Northern Rivers sit with respect to their
rate of employment growth between 2006 and 2011 and their level of specialisation as indicated by
their LQ. The Northern Rivers’ dominant industry sectors (those that are growing and which
demonstrate a high level of specialisation in the region relative to non-metropolitan New South
Wales, and which drive the region’s economic prosperity) include:




health care and social assistance;
education and training;
retail trade; and
accommodation and food services.
Figure 58 – Industry growth and share 2006 - 2011
1.8
1.6
1.4
Location Quotient
Health care and social
assistance
Retail trade
Arts and
recreation
services
1.2
1.0
Accommodation
& food
services
Agriculture
Professional
services
Manufacturing
0.8
Education and training
Information media &
telecommunications
Financial and
insurance services
0.6
Construction
0.4
0.2
0.0
-4%
-2%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
Relative Average Annual Growth Rate 2006 - 2011
The Northern Rivers also has some emerging or potential new drivers of prosperity (those industries
that are expanding) which include professional, scientific and technical services, financial and
insurance services and the information, media and telecommunications sector.
Although the region’s construction, agriculture and manufacturing sectors are relatively large sectors
in employment terms, their relative rate of growth and specialisation shows them to be in a period
of transition. These sectors demonstrate below-average growth and a relative lack of specialisation
compared to the non-metropolitan NSW average. However, given the highly dispersed and localised
nature of retailing, this is to be expected.
Despite its small size and negative growth relative to non-metropolitan NSW, the fact the region’s
arts and recreation services sector displays a positive location quotient suggests the industry is in the
‘seed’ stage of development with potential for growth.
Gross regional product
The largest contributors to the region’s gross regional product (GRP) shown in Table 27 are
manufacturing (8.9%), health care and social assistance (8.5%), financial and insurance services
(7.1%), retail trade (6.7%) and education and training (6.6%). Mining (0.5%), arts and recreation
services (0.9%) and utility services (1.9%) were the smallest contributors.
Table 27 – Gross regional product 2009-2010
Industry
Northern Rivers
NSW
2009/10 ($m)
% of total
2009/10 ($m)
% of total
Agriculture, forestry & fishing
566.1
5.1
8,569
2.0
Mining
54.8
0.5
12,636
2.9
Manufacturing
988.2
8.9
35,376
8.1
Electricity, gas, water & waste services
214.9
1.9
10,600
2.4
Construction
505.9
4.6
21,855
5.0
Wholesale trade
455.3
4.1
18,275
4.2
Retail trade
738.1
6.7
16,930
3.9
Accommodation & food services
441.7
4.0
11,671
2.7
Transport, postal & warehousing
397.7
3.6
21,960
5.0
Information, media & telecommunications
364.7
3.3
17,947
4.1
Financial & insurance services
786.3
7.1
60,095
13.7
Rental, hiring & real estate services
332.0
3.0
10,435
2.4
Professional, scientific & technical services
438.9
4.0
29,872
6.8
Administrative & support services
229.3
2.1
12,168
2.8
Public administration & safety
607.7
5.5
19,225
4.4
Education & training
731.7
6.6
19,681
4.5
Health care & social assistance
940.0
8.5
26,302
6.0
Arts & recreation services
99.7
0.9
3,910
0.9
Other services
229.5
2.1
8,190
1.9
Non-classifiable industry
98.9
0.9
-
-
Total Industry Income
9,221.4
83.4
365,697
83.4
Ownership of dwellings
945.0
8.5
37,475
8.5
Taxes less subsidies on production and imports
855.6
7.7
33,932
7.7
Statistical discrepancy
34.0
0.3
1,350
0.3
11,056
100
438,456
100
Gross Regional Product
(source: Lismore 2011)
Differences between our region and the state data include:




financial and insurance services industries contributed 6.6% less;
retail trade industries contributed 2.8% more;
mining industries contributed 1.4% less; and
agriculture, forestry and fishing industries contributed 3.1% more.
Regional competitiveness
The Regional Australia Institute (RAI) has recently released the [In]Sight framework to provide a
measure of the competitiveness of each region in Australia, including metropolitan regions, based
on 59 indicators across 10 themes. This is assessed at the LGA and RDA region levels and each RDA
region and LGA has been assigned a ranking to indicate their relative competitiveness at a national
scale (RAI 2013). There are 55 RDA regions and 560 LGAs.
Table 28 highlights that the Northern Rivers is in the top ten most competitive regions in the
national RDA rankings for the themes of natural resources (#4), business sophistication (#5) and
infrastructure and essential services (#10). The indicators contributing to these strengths include:



high levels of net primary productivity, based on the rate at which all plants in an ecosystem
produce net useful chemical energy (ranking #2) and national parks, based on distance to
national parks from major regional centres (ranking #5) for the natural resources theme;
high average value of exports per business (ranking #2) and less dominance of large employers
(ranking #5) for the business sophistication theme; and
access to allied health services (based on proportion of workforce employed in health services)
and general practitioner (GP) services based on number of GP services per 100,000 residents,
with RDA regional ranking at #3 and #9 respectively.
Table 28 – National competitiveness rankings
National Rankings:
By RDA
By LGA
Theme
Northern
Rivers
Ballina
Byron
Clarence
Valley
Kyogle
Lismore
Richmond
Valley
Tweed
Natural resources
4
243
63
118
135
39
80
328
Institutions
32
168
425
129
244
257
277
345
Infrastructure and
essential services
10
62
127
151
227
23
168
83
Economic fundamentals
19
334
263
386
477
387
374
292
Human capital
20
119
105
269
372
104
339
151
Technological readiness
32
166
147
264
327
160
342
197
Labour market efficiency
53
350
470
513
510
490
520
482
Business sophistication
5
95
46
370
395
216
491
187
Innovation
27
207
175
277
302
118
274
213
Market size
23
207
207
451
207
207
207
207
NB the National RDA rankings are out of 55, LGA rankings out of 550 (source: RAI 2013)
The region is least competitive on the labour market efficiency theme, which is largely due to our
high unemployment rate, high youth unemployment, low workforce participation and levels of
welfare dependence.
It is also interesting that two Northern Rivers LGAs are ranked in the top 10% of all LGAs. Lismore is
ranked at #39 for natural resources and Byron Shire at #46 for business sophistication.