The Lithgow District Chamber of Commerce (LDCC) was successful in its application for
A Bushfire Local Economy Fund (BLERF) grant of $503,000 which commenced in October 2021 with the Employment of events co – ordinator.
The grant application estimated up to 240 jobs and an additional $65 million in annual sales over 3 to 5 years because of the program. It is a requirement to the grant to table in LDCC’c annual report and on it website for three years following the end of the program.
This report was not completed in time for the annual report but that will be rectified in the following years and will form the basis a new page on our website providing an overview of the state of Lithgow ‘s economy.
Thew project delivered the following outcomes:
May 2022 Start up Mentoring Program commenced with 10 participants
June 2022 – Procurement Seminar over 100 attendees – speakers from all tiers of government and significant local businesses on their respective procurement policies and procedures. industry.
November 2022 – re – introduction of local business awards
May 2023 – Business and Lifestyle Expo – over 90 local exhibitors with 3,000 visitors.
February 2024 – Investor Forum 24 representatives from 19 different organisations both national and global interested in investment opportunities in the Lithgow Region.
Job creation and employment status
Table 1 provides an overview of the employment status of residents in the Lithgow LGA during 2021 compared to 2016 and to Regional NSW. In 2016 the unemployment rate in Lithgow was 7.8% which was reduced to 5.5% in 2021.
| Employment status | |||||||
| Lithgow City – Persons in the labour force (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| Employment status | Number | % | Regional NSW % | Number | % | Regional NSW % | 2016 to 2021 |
| Employed | 8,300 | 94.5 | 95.4 | 7,796 | 92.2 | 93.4 | +504 |
| Employed full-time | 4,718 | 53.7 | 54.5 | 4,627 | 54.7 | 55.2 | +91 |
| Employed part-time | 2,829 | 32.2 | 33.7 | 2,678 | 31.7 | 32.8 | +151 |
| Employed, away from work | 753 | 8.6 | 7.3 | 491 | 5.8 | 5.4 | +262 |
| Unemployed (Unemployment rate) | 483 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 656 | 7.8 | 6.6 | -173 |
| Looking for full-time work | 298 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 451 | 5.3 | 3.9 | -153 |
| Looking for part-time work | 185 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 205 | 2.4 | 2.7 | -20 |
| Total labour force | 8,783 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 8,452 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +331 |
Table 1: Employment Status
| Industry sector of employment | |||||||
| Lithgow City – Employed persons (Usual residence) | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||
| Industry sector | Number | % | Regional NSW % | Number | % | Regional NSW % | 2016 to 2021 |
| Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing | 220 | 2.6 | 5.1 | 218 | 2.8 | 5.7 | +2 |
| Mining | 662 | 8.0 | 2.4 | 694 | 8.9 | 2.4 | -32 |
| Manufacturing | 410 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 414 | 5.3 | 6.0 | -4 |
| Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services | 274 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 283 | 3.6 | 1.3 | -9 |
| Construction | 613 | 7.4 | 9.4 | 521 | 6.7 | 8.7 | +92 |
| Wholesale trade | 177 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 174 | 2.2 | 2.0 | +3 |
| Retail Trade | 747 | 9.0 | 9.4 | 760 | 9.7 | 10.3 | -13 |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 690 | 8.3 | 7.5 | 701 | 9.0 | 7.9 | -11 |
| Transport, Postal and Warehousing | 353 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 355 | 4.6 | 4.0 | -2 |
| Information Media and Telecommunications | 52 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 62 | 0.8 | 0.9 | -10 |
| Financial and Insurance Services | 161 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 158 | 2.0 | 2.0 | +3 |
| Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services | 102 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 104 | 1.3 | 1.4 | -2 |
| Professional, Scientific and Technical Services | 277 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 229 | 2.9 | 4.5 | +48 |
| Administrative and Support Services | 325 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 264 | 3.4 | 3.3 | +61 |
| Public Administration and Safety | 843 | 10.1 | 7.2 | 745 | 9.6 | 7.2 | +98 |
| Education and Training | 609 | 7.3 | 9.2 | 500 | 6.4 | 9.0 | +109 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 1,054 | 12.7 | 16.3 | 906 | 11.6 | 14.4 | +148 |
| Arts and Recreation Services | 99 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 89 | 1.1 | 1.2 | +10 |
| Other Services | 318 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 302 | 3.9 | 3.9 | +16 |
| Inadequately described or not stated | 324 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 319 | 4.1 | 3.8 | +5 |
| Total employed persons aged 15+ | 8,310 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 7,798 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +512 |
Table 2: Industry Sector of employment
“An analysis of the jobs held by the resident population in Lithgow City in 2021 shows the three most popular industry sectors were:
- Health Care and Social Assistance (1,054 people or 12.7%)
- Public Administration and Safety (843 people or 10.1%)
- Retail Trade (747 people or 9.0%)
In combination, these three industries employed 2,644 people in total or 31.8% of the total employed resident population.
In comparison, Regional NSW employed 16.3% in Health Care and Social Assistance; 7.2% in Public Administration and Safety; and 9.4% in Retail Trade.
The major differences between the jobs held by the population of Lithgow City and Regional NSW were:
- A larger percentage of persons employed in mining (8.0% compared to 2.4%)
- A larger percentage of persons employed in public administration and safety (10.1% compared to 7.2%)
- A smaller percentage of persons employed in health care and social assistance (12.7% compared to 16.3” (summary presented by .id – {informed decisions website}.)
The unemployment rate for Lithgow in 2024 was 2.4% as reported by the NSW Office of Local Government a decrease of 2.1% since 2021 when the project commenced. It must be noted that the average unemployment rate for similar size councils in NSW was 2.8%.
On reviewing the data presented by table 3 below 107 new positions were created in the Lithgow LGA between 2021/22 and 2022/23
Sales Lithgow LGA
Totals sales of all industries (both local and export) are summarised in Table 3.
| Output by industry sector | |||||||
| Lithgow City Council | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | Change | ||||
| Industry | $m | %. | New South Wales | $m | %. | New South Wales | 2021/22 – 2022/23 |
| Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing | 63.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 65.8 | 2.3 | 2.5 | -2.9 |
| Mining | 1,335.3 | 42.3 | 4.0 | 1,067.7 | 36.9 | 3.9 | +267.6 |
| Manufacturing | 162.1 | 5.1 | 9.5 | 164.7 | 5.7 | 10.0 | -2.6 |
| Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services | 317.5 | 10.1 | 2.7 | 346.8 | 12.0 | 2.8 | -29.3 |
| Construction | 263.8 | 8.4 | 13.4 | 240.5 | 8.3 | 13.4 | +23.3 |
| Wholesale Trade | 40.7 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 47.8 | 1.7 | 4.2 | -7.1 |
| Retail Trade | 89.1 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 98.8 | 3.4 | 3.9 | -9.7 |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 106.3 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 90.5 | 3.1 | 2.6 | +15.8 |
| Transport, Postal and Warehousing | 110.8 | 3.5 | 7.6 | 111.5 | 3.9 | 6.6 | -0.7 |
| Information Media and Telecommunications | 11.6 | 0.4 | 4.6 | 11.9 | 0.4 | 4.3 | -0.3 |
| Financial and Insurance Services | 56.5 | 1.8 | 9.0 | 56.2 | 1.9 | 9.3 | +0.3 |
| Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services | 83.8 | 2.7 | 6.1 | 82.9 | 2.9 | 6.5 | +0.9 |
| Professional, Scientific and Technical Services | 50.9 | 1.6 | 9.7 | 52.3 | 1.8 | 9.9 | -1.4 |
| Administrative and Support Services | 87.3 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 84.6 | 2.9 | 3.6 | +2.7 |
| Public Administration and Safety | 161.0 | 5.1 | 4.0 | 156.4 | 5.4 | 4.1 | +4.6 |
| Education and Training | 64.4 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 68.0 | 2.4 | 3.8 | -3.6 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 104.2 | 3.3 | 5.7 | 104.3 | 3.6 | 5.8 | -0.1 |
| Arts and Recreation Services | 7.5 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 6.4 | 0.2 | 1.0 | +1.1 |
| Other Services | 37.8 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 34.3 | 1.2 | 1.6 | +3.5 |
| Total industries | 3,153.6 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2,891.5 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +262.1 |
| Source: National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR) ©2024.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. | |||||||
Total sales both local and export with the Lithgow LGA in the 2022/23 financial year increased by $262.1 million over the 2021/22 result.
