Understanding the economic role of Western Downs Regional Council 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 Western Downs Regional Council'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 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Downs Regional Council | 2024 | 2019 | 2014 | |||
| Industry | number | % | number | % | number | % |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 2,587 | 14.0 | 2,998 | 16.0 | 3,076 | 16.8 |
| Mining | 1,324 | 7.1 | 1,431 | 7.7 | 1,416 | 7.8 |
| Goods related | 7,274 | 39.3 | 7,538 | 40.3 | 7,536 | 41.3 |
| Household services | 4,753 | 25.6 | 4,502 | 24.1 | 4,027 | 22.0 |
| Business services | 1,667 | 9.0 | 1,364 | 7.3 | 1,389 | 7.6 |
| Public administration and safety | 927 | 5.0 | 873 | 4.7 | 822 | 4.5 |
| Total Industries | 18,532 | 100.0 | 18,707 | 100.0 | 18,265 | 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 | ||||||