Understanding the economic role of Shire of Ashburton 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 the Shire of Ashburton'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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shire of Ashburton | 2024 | 2019 | 2014 | |||
| Industry | number | % | number | % | number | % |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 79 | 0.4 | 112 | 0.6 | 101 | 0.6 |
| Mining | 11,222 | 62.5 | 11,788 | 60.1 | 8,636 | 53.3 |
| Goods related | 4,305 | 24.0 | 3,807 | 19.4 | 4,830 | 29.8 |
| Household services | 1,382 | 7.7 | 1,718 | 8.8 | 1,390 | 8.6 |
| Business services | 844 | 4.7 | 1,917 | 9.8 | 1,061 | 6.5 |
| Public administration and safety | 136 | 0.8 | 276 | 1.4 | 190 | 1.2 |
| Total Industries | 17,968 | 100.0 | 19,617 | 100.0 | 16,208 | 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 | ||||||