ECONOMICS REGIONAL FACTSHEET

The and regions Illawarra: Economic Profile (ABS statistical areas)

Illawarra: Location 300,000 The Ilawarra region is located on the coast of PEOPLE , 80kms south of Sydney’s CBD. Its main urban areas are the coastal (including Port Kembla) and the smaller urban centres of Shellharbour and Kiama. Wollongong is 16,000 approximately 1.5 hours travel time from Sydney’s CBD, BUSINESSES with Shellharbour a further 10 minutes along the coast to the South.

Illawarra: people 130,000 EMPLOYEES Just under 300,000 people lived in the greater Illawarra region in June 2014 (around 4% of all NSW residents). This included 206,000 residents of Wollongong and Port Kembla. Another 90,000 lived in and around Shellharbour. 2.2% OF NSW’S ECONOMY

The Illawarra and Wollongong region (ABS statistical areas)

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Illawarra: people Illawarra: people

The median age of Illawarra region residents is 39 years • 6.3% in Wollongong were aged under 5 years (5% in THE MEDIAN AGE old (younger in Wollongong and older in Kiama and Kiama), versus 6.6% for all NSW; OF ILLAWARRA REGION Shellharbour to the South). This is just above the median • 16.4% were aged over 65 years (20.5% in Kiama), versus RESIDENTS IS age for NSW (38 years) and for Australia nationally (37.3 14.7% for all NSW; years). 17% of the region’s residents were over 65 years old • 16.7% spoke a language other than English (3.7% in in 2014, compared with 15.5% of people living in NSW and Kiama), versus 22.5% for all NSW; 14.7% of all Australian residents. • 2.2% were Indigenous (1.4% in Kiama), versus 2.5% for YEARS all NSW; The last population census indicated that in 2011, 39 • 16.8% have a university qualification (21.2% in Kiama), 206,800 people lived in the Wollongong region, with versus 19.9% for all NSW; another 21,314 people living in the Kiama-Shellharbour • 29.3% of households are renting (20.6% in Kiama), IN WOLLONGONG IN 2011 region. Of these: versus 29.1% for all NSW; and • Wollongong residents had a median household income of $1,101 p.w. (2011 dollars) ($1,234 in Kiama), versus $1,237 for all NSW. 16.7% Table 1: Illawarra regional population SPOKE A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH People aged People aged 15–64 People aged 65 Population Median age June 2014 0–14 years years years & over no. years % of local population Wollongong 130,409 37.8 17.3 66.5 16.3 Dapto - Port Kembla 76,411 40.1 19.1 62.7 18.2 16.8% Kiama - Shellharbour 90,012 40.2 19.6 63.6 16.8 HAVE A UNIVERSITY Illawarra Region (SA4) 296,845 39.1 18.4 64.6 16.9 QUALIFICATION NSW 7,518,472 37.9 18.7 65.8 15.5 Australia 23,490,736 37.3 18.8 66.5 14.7

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Illawarra: business and industry

In 2013-14, the regional economy of the Greater Illawarra businesses with employees are heavily share of the local workforce (11%) than is evident in NSW Wollongong region was estimated by id Insights concentrated in construction (20% of all local businesses), or nationally (7.9% and 7.7%), reflecting the significance of professional services (13%), retail trade (10%) and the as a regional employer. The to be worth around $10.5bn, or 2.2% of the NSW healthcare (8%). Indeed, these four industries account University of Wollongong had 27,449 students enrolled in economy. The Kiama region contributed a further for over half of all employing businesses operating in the 2013 (up from 25,298 in 2012). A further 31,786 students $661mn (0.1% of the NSW economy, as estimated Illawarra region. were enrolled in TAFE education courses across the Illawarra region in 2013. by id insights). This activity was generated by an Around 400 employing businesses operate in each of manufacturing and transport. They account for around 10% Large employing businesses in Wollongong, Port Kembla estimated 11,783 businesses in the Wollongong of all local businesses and 11% of all local employment. and the Illawarra region include: region (1.7% of NSW businesses) plus another 1,011 Just 66 Illawarra employing businesses are agricultural and • Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (9 hospitals 12 are in mining, reflecting the predominantly urban nature in the Kiama region (estimated by id insights). and 7,300 employees) of this regional economy. • BlueScope Steel (5,500 employees) ABS data indicate that around 16,000 businesses Many of the region’s industrial and freight operations are • Illawarra Coal, a subsidiary of South32 (2,500 employees) were operating in the greater Illawarra region as clustered in and around Port Kembla. The Port of Kembla • University of Wollongong (9 campuses and 2,500 operates 24 hours per day and features berth depths of employees) of June 2014. 7,500 of these had employees. The up to 16.25m that can handle vessels of up to 230,000dtw • Manildra Starches (1,300 employees) remainder were non-employing entities such capacity. The Port is linked directly by road and rail to • Wollongong City Council (1,000 employees) as sole traders and self-employed contractors. Sydney and regional NSW. 946 vessels came through the • Bisalloy Steel Group (around 820 employees) Port in 2012-13. Major exports are coal (three quarters of • Australian Health Management Group, subsidiary of Just three large businesses employed 200 or the total), steel and grains, while the major imports are cars Medibank Private Ltd (570 employees) more people and 395 medium-sized businesses and iron ore. • Figtree Private Hospital, subsidiary of Ramsey Healthcare (350 employees) employed 20 to 199 people. The employment profile of the Illawarra region is similar • CSC Communications (around 300 employees) to that of NSW and Australia nationally, with healthcare, • Port Kembla Coal Terminal (120 employees) education, construction and hospitality (food and accommodation services) each employing more than 10% of the regional workforce. Education employs a higher

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Table 2: Illawarra employing businesses and employees, by industry The Illawarra region’s employing businesses include Employing businesses Number of employees*

Illawarra region (SA4) (June 2014) (May 2015)

Number Share (%) (‘000) Share (%)

Agriculture 66 0.9 0.1 0.1 Mining 12 0.2 3.5 2.7 20% IN CONSTRUCTION Manufacturing 408 5.4 9.1 6.9

Utilities 9 0.1 1.8 1.4

Construction 1,489 19.7 13.6 10.3

Wholesale Trade 271 3.6 4.6 3.5 Retail Trade 776 10.3 12.7 9.7 18% Accommodation & Food Services 615 8.2 13.1 10.0 IN PROFESSIONAL OR

Transport 394 5.2 5.3 4.0 ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

Information Media & Telecommunications 37 0.5 0.4 0.3

Financial & Insurance Services 257 3.4 3.7 2.8

Rental, Hiring & Real Estate Services 284 3.8 0.8 0.6 Professional Services 1,016 13.5 8.3 6.3 11% Administrative Services 340 4.5 3.6 2.7 IN MANUFACTURING Public Administration 52 0.7 8.4 6.4 OR TRANSPORT Education & Training 138 1.8 14.9 11.3

Health Care & Social Assistance 613 8.1 19.3 14.7

Arts & Recreation Services 112 1.5 2.3 1.7

Other Services 568 7.5 5.8 4.4

Illawarra Region (SA4) 7,545 100.0 131.6 100.0

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Table 3: Number of businesses at 30 June 2014, by employment size Illawarra: business and industry

PORT KEMBLA Employing businesses (by headcount) Non- Total employing IMPORTS: Number 1-4 5-19 20-199 200 or more Total Wollongong 2,651 898 189 3 3,741 4,716 8,457 Dapto - Port Kembla 1,098 395 133 - 1,626 1,700 3,326 Kiama - Shellharbour 1,589 516 73 - 2,178 2,430 4,608 40% Illawarra Region (SA4) 5,338 1,809 395 3 7,545 8,846 16,391 FROM THE REST OF AUSTRALIA Illawarra as % of NSW 2.6% 2.9% 2.6% 0.8% 2.7% 2.2% 2.4% Illawarra as % of Australia 0.9% 0.9% 0.8% 0.1% 0.9% 0.7% 0.8% 43% FROM ASIA OR EAST RUSSIA

Chart 1: Imports and Exports through Port Kembla, 2012-13

PORT KEMBLA

IMPORTS IMPORTS EXPORTS EXPORTS EXPORTS:

Other Other Other Other

Iron Ore ConcentrateIron Ore Concentrate Copper Ore Copper Ore Motor LorriesMotor Lorries Canola Canola Limestone Limestone Steel Coils Steel Coils 78% Dolomite Dolomite Coke Coke TO ASIA OR EAST RUSSIA Iron Ore Iron Ore Wheat Wheat Passenger CarsPassenger Cars Coal - Black Coal - Black 6% TO THE REST OF AUSTRALIA

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Illawarra: labour market

Around 132,000 residents of the Illawarra region were the year to March 2015, down from 17.9% in March 2014 Illawarra workforce (2015) employed in July 2015. Labour force participation (IRIS estimates based on ABS data). (employed plus unemployed people actively seeking work) An estimated 1,129 jobs were advertised in the Illawarra is lower in the Illawarra region (averaging 60% of the adult region in July 2015 (3 month moving average). This implies population in 2015) than in NSW (averaging 64% in 2015) or a ratio of about 10 unemployed job seekers for every job for all of Australia (65% in 2015). vacancy advertised in the Illawarra region during 2015. The 64% of the Illawarra region’s workforce are employed single largest category of vacancies in 2015 were professional full time (over 35 hours per week), versus 70.5% of all roles (27% of vacancies) including medical doctors and 64% workers in NSW and 69% across Australia (July 2015). nurses (7%), medical diagnostics (4%), business (5%), legal EMPLOYED FULL-TIME Illawarra’s higher proportion of part-time work reflects (4%) and engineering (2%) professionals. Another 8% of the larger share of health and education jobs in the local vacancies were for managerial roles and 15% were for economy. Around 24% of working residents of the Greater technical and trades roles. Wollongong region travelled outside of their residential The Federal Department of Employment expects total area for work (2011 Census data). employment in the Illawarra region to grow from 132,000 The occupational profile of the region shows that 21% in 2015 to 144,000 by 2019. An additional 3,000 jobs are 26% EMPLOYED IN HEALTHCARE of workers in this region are professionals and 10% are expected in each of education, healthcare and hospitality OR EDUCATION managers, compared to 13% of NSW and 13% of Australian (accommodation and food services), plus 1,000 in retail. workers. 12% are labourers, compared to 9% of NSW and This will be offset by job losses in manufacturing and 10% of Australian workers. This suggests a lower skill profile mining (an estimated 400 jobs lost each). in this region than is typical across NSW and Australia. This projection to 2019 by the Department does not The region’s unemployment rate was around 8% in July take into account the possibility of job losses that have 2015 (up sharply from 6% or lower through much of 2014), been flagged by Bluescope from its steel manufacturing 31% versus 6% for NSW and Australia. This means an average facilities at Port Kembla, or from local businesses that form EMPLOYED AS MANAGERS of around 11,000 people were actively seeking work in the part of the steelworks’ supply chain. Bluescope directly OR PROFESSIONALS Illawarra region during the six months to July. The youth employs 5,000 people at Port Kembla, accounting for over unemployment rate (the proportion of 15 to 24 year olds half of the region’s manufacturing jobs (9,100 jobs in 2015) who are participating in the labour force and are actively and 3.8% of the total local workforce. seeking work) in the Illawarra region improved to 13.8% in

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Table 4: Illawarra regional employment, by occupation

Illawarra labour market (2015) Full-time Part-time Total Share Occupation (July 2015) (‘000) (‘000) (‘000) (%) Managers 11.4 1.5 12.9 9.8 Professionals 19.2 8.9 28.1 21.3 Technicians and Trades Workers 19.9 1.8 21.7 16.5 Community and Personal 6.6 10.7 17.3 13.1 60% Service Workers LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION Clerical and Administrative Workers 9.3 6.0 15.4 11.7 Sales Workers 2.5 8.2 10.7 8.1 Machinery Operators And Drivers 7.9 2.1 9.9 7.5 Labourers 7.9 7.8 15.7 11.9 Illawarra Region (SA4) 84.7 47.0 131.7 100.0 8% * Annual average of the preceding 4 quarters. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

Chart 2: Unemployment rates* Chart 3: Participation rates* 14% YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

* 6 month moving averages, original data.

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Chart 4: Job vacancies by occupation*, Illawarra & South Coast’ region Chart 5: Illawarra: total regional employment and 5-year projection

Chart 6: Illawarra: regional employment projections to Nov 2019, by industry

* 3 month moving averages, original data.

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Illawarra: building activity

The average price for an established house Table 5: Illawarra building approvals, number and value in July 2015 was $635,000 in Wollongong and

$388,000 in Port Kembla (PropertyValue data), Residential building approvals (no.) 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Jul 2015 versus $1,002,799 in Sydney and $745,131 for all New houses 495 712 758 754 30 capital cities. IRIS Research estimates that the New other residential building 359 281 583 1,171 17 median house price for the Illawarra region was Total residential buildings 859 1,012 1,358 1,949 48 $505,000, while the median price for units was

$405,000 (March 2015). In the year to March 2015, Value of building approvals ($m) 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 Jul 2015 3,721 houses and 1,694 units changes hands. At 1.5 Total Residential building 263.6 329.0 421.8 591.9 18.5 hours travel time from Sydney’s CBD, this region New houses 144.2 221.2 228.7 242.4 9.3 is an attractive option for Sydney commuters. New other residential building 68.0 52.6 141.5 285.8 3.4

Alterations & additions 51.4 55.2 51.6 63.7 5.8

Building approvals for residential units (houses, Total Non-residential building 677.9 202.6 312.4 225.4 116.2 apartments and other residences) have grown each Total building 941.5 531.6 734.1 817.3 134.6 year since 2011-12, reaching approvals for almost 2,000 new residences in 2014-15. The value of non-residential building approvals has however, declined since peaking at $678m in 2011-12. These trends are in line with Average house prices (2015) construction investment in NSW over this period. Major resources-related projects in the pipeline in this region WOLLONGONG PORT KEMBLA ILLAWARRA REGION include expansions to the Russell Vale Colliery, Metropolitan and Appin Area 9 coal facilities to the North of Wollongong, worth an estimated $1.4bn in construction costs. $635k $388k $505k

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Table 6: Illawarra major construction projects in the pipeline, 2015

Indicative Cost Construction Operating Project Company Location Type Est. Start Up Status Resource Estimate ($m) Job Estimate Job Estimate

Appin Area 9 BHP Billiton Wollongong Expansion 2016 Committed coking coal 994 n/a n/a

Metropolitan Peabody 30 km N of Expansion 2015 Committed coking coal 70 50 50 Energy Wollongong

Russell Vale Wollongong 8 km N of Expansion n/a Feasibility coking coal 250 65 350 Colliery Coal Wollongong Stage

Russell Vale Wollongong 8 km N of Upgrade n/a Committed coking coal 122 13 n/a Colliery (preliminary Coal Wollongong works project)

Data sources Department of Industry, Ai Group Economics and Research Team www.industry.gov.au/Office-of-the-Chief-Economist/ Resources and Energy Major Projects (annual series) Australian Bureau of Statistics, Julie Toth – Chief Economist www.abs.gov.au Id Insights content.id.com.au/economic-indicators-australia Pip Freebairn – Senior Adviser, Economic Policy Labour Force, Australia (monthly series) Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia National Economic Indicators Series (annual series) Yi Ming Hu – Economist (quarterly series) IRIS Research David Richardson – Manager, Economics and Business Services Building Approvals, Australia (monthly series) www.iris.org.au/ Colleen Dowling – Senior Research Coordinator (part time) Counts of Australian Businesses (annual series) Profile Illawarra (2015) Census of Population and Housing (2011) Illawarra Statistics (2014) Elle Spyropoulos – Research Assistant (part time)

Department of Employment, NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service, http://lmip.gov.au/default.aspx?LMIP The Illawarra: An Economic Profile (2011) [email protected] Employment Projections, regional data (annual series) NSW Ports, Trade Report 2012-13 Small Area Labour Markets (quarterly series) T: 03 9867 0111 PropertyValue by Core Logic Internet Vacancies Index, regional data (monthly series) www.propertyvalue.com Residex www.residex.com.au/

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