The three sectors providing the most employment in the Illawarra region are healthcare, education and retail. They employ about 40 per cent of people who work in the region.

Healthcare

Healthcare is the biggest and fastest growing employer. About 15 per cent of the local workforce is employed in this sector.

It has been growing by an impressive 15 per cent over the last ten years.

The ageing of the Boomers will put pressure on healthcare services and that will create jobs.

Education

The University of Wollongong, with 3000 employees will remain one of the biggest single employers in the region. However, the biggest employer in the education sector are primary and high schools, providing jobs for teachers and support staff.

According to population statistics, over the next five years the number of high school and primary school students will remain stable. The bad news is that the number of university-age teenagers will shrink by about five per cent.

Across all age groups, the number of young people we have coming into school ages and university age means that jobs in the education sector are unlikely to grow over the next 5-10 years.

Retail

The retail sector provides about 10 per cent of the jobs in the region. It has also been the second-fastest shrinking sector over the last 10 years, declining by around three per cent per year.

This reflects automation and competition from online sales. The sector will continue to shrink.

Even so due to the virus restrictions as of July this year, across Australia liquor store spending was up 37.1% compared to June 2019, electronics were up 33.3%, hardware and garden supplies up 27.5% and homewares up 26.4% yet car sales have plummeted.