RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region

Employment by industry (FTE)

In the RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region, Health Care and Social Assistance is the largest employer, generating 20,601 FTE jobs in 2023/24.

Full-time equivalent (FTE) employment is modelled by NIEIR and takes into account differences in hours worked between industry sectors. It is a measure that allows direct comparison of employment between industries in the RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region.

Typically, industries such as Retail Trade and Accommodation and Food Services, which employ many part-time workers, have lower FTE employment than total employment.

FTE employment is calculated directly by dividing the total hours worked in each industry by 38. By comparing the number of full-time equivalent jobs in each industry sector to a regional benchmark, you can clearly see the structure of the RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region's economy. This can be done by directly comparing the area to its benchmark, or by using a location quotient to look at the relative size of industries.

FTE employment should be viewed in conjunction with Employment by industry (Total) and Employment by industry (Census), for a full understanding of the industry breakdown in the area. Worker productivity data shows the value of a worker in each industry to the local economy. Employment locations shows where employment is taking place in each industry sector.

Data source

National Economics (NIEIR) - Modelled series

Please note: FTE employment is derived from Census data but has been corrected for the known undercount of employment in the Census. Detailed notes about how the figures are derived can be found in thespecific topic notes section.
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Full-time equivalent employment by industry sector
RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region2023/242018/19Change
IndustryNumber%. QueenslandNumber%. Queensland2018/19 - 2023/24
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing9,0008.42.99,79810.63.4-798
Mining2,0171.93.21,4481.63.2+569
Manufacturing8,3297.86.97,7798.47.6+550
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services1,6051.51.51,4031.51.4+203
Construction11,31910.611.08,1908.911.0+3,129
Wholesale Trade1,6771.62.72,0192.23.2-343
Retail Trade9,5438.97.79,45010.28.3+93
Accommodation and Food Services7,2266.85.56,1086.66.1+1,118
Transport, Postal and Warehousing4,8164.56.04,9395.36.0-122
Information Media and Telecommunications8450.81.29911.11.4-146
Financial and Insurance Services1,1321.12.71,0091.12.6+123
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services2,0932.01.81,3991.51.9+694
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services3,8683.68.13,5393.87.0+329
Administrative and Support Services2,4332.33.02,3182.53.2+115
Public Administration and Safety5,4805.17.05,2175.66.9+263
Education and Training9,5879.08.67,9808.68.4+1,607
Health Care and Social Assistance20,60119.314.914,21615.413.0+6,385
Arts and Recreation Services1,2571.21.47310.81.5+525
Other Services4,0573.84.03,8604.24.1+197
Total industries106,886100.0100.092,396100.0100.0+14,490

Source: National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR) ©2025. Compiled and presented in economy.id by .id (informed decisions). NIEIR-ID data are adjusted each year, using updated employment estimates. Each release may change previous years’ figures. Learn more

Please refer to specific data notes for more information
Did you know? By clicking/tapping on a category in the chart below you will be able to drilldown to the sub categories.
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Dominant groups

An analysis of the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers in the RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region in 2023/24 shows the three largest industries were:

  • Health Care and Social Assistance (20,601 people or 19.3%)
  • Construction (11,319 people or 10.6%)
  • Education and Training (9,587 people or 9.0%)

In combination these three fields accounted for 41,507 people in total or 38.8% of the local workers.

In comparison, Queensland employed 14.9% in Health Care and Social Assistance; 11.0% in Construction and 8.6% in Education and Training.

The major differences between the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers of the RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region and Queensland were:

  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (8.4% compared to 2.9%)
  • A smaller percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (3.6% compared to 8.1%)
  • A larger percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Health Care and Social Assistance (19.3% compared to 14.9%)
  • A smaller percentage of full-time equivalent local workers employed in Public Administration and Safety (5.1% compared to 7.0%)

Emerging groups

The number of full-time equivalent local workers in the RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region increased by increased by 14,490 between 2018/19 and 2023/24.

The largest changes in the jobs held by the full-time equivalent local workers between 2018/19 and 2023/24 in the RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region were for those employed in:

  • Health Care and Social Assistance (+6,385 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Construction (+3,129 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Education and Training (+1,607 full-time equivalent local workers)
  • Accommodation and Food Services (+1,118 full-time equivalent local workers)

RDA Wide Bay Burnett Region

economic profile