Latest news with #Rawnsley
Sydney Morning Herald
22-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
The maps that reveal how Western Sydney is being split in two
Western Sydney is getting younger and more divided, with a chasm growing in employment and opportunities between the region's northern and southern sides. Data compiled for KPMG's Emerging Cities report reveals a significantly higher employment rate in the city's north-west, where unemployment sits at 2.9 per cent, compared to the city's south-west and outer-west, where unemployment ranges from 3.6 to 5.4 per cent. There were increases in the population of people aged 20-49, with 19,600 people in their 20s moving to western Sydney. Terry Rawnsley, KPMG's urban economist, said this was primarily driven by the migration of families to the area. While Western Sydney's expanse has never grown at a constant rate, he said the data shows the impacts of infrastructure investment in a region. While Sydney's north-western edges have for years reaped the benefits of government investment in the M7, Sydney's first metro line and new employment hubs, the city's south-west is several decades behind. But not for long. Major projects in the area, including construction on the new international airport, the Bradfield City precinct (the first major planned city in Australia in more than 100 years) and Moorebank's freight terminal, are all creating more jobs. On Western Sydney's northern side, 27,000 jobs – primarily professional occupations – were added in 2024. On the southern side, that number was just 13,400, made up of primarily blue-collar jobs. Between the two sides, Parramatta acts as what Rawnsley labelled a blurry demarcation line. That divide was concerning for social mobility: 'You would like to have a city where, in a street, you could have a service worker, a labourer, a lawyer and a doctor, all stretched on the one street. It doesn't always work that way, but having that diversity of workforce is good because you can have local services coming through and for the next generation to have … wide social networks.'
The Age
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
The maps that reveal how Western Sydney is being split in two
Western Sydney is getting younger and more divided, with a chasm growing in employment and opportunities between the region's northern and southern sides. Data compiled for KPMG's Emerging Cities report reveals a significantly higher employment rate in the city's north-west, where unemployment sits at 2.9 per cent, compared to the city's south-west and outer-west, where unemployment ranges from 3.6 to 5.4 per cent. There were increases in the population of people aged 20-49, with 19,600 people in their 20s moving to western Sydney. Terry Rawnsley, KPMG's urban economist, said this was primarily driven by the migration of families to the area. While Western Sydney's expanse has never grown at a constant rate, he said the data shows the impacts of infrastructure investment in a region. While Sydney's north-western edges have for years reaped the benefits of government investment in the M7, Sydney's first metro line and new employment hubs, the city's south-west is several decades behind. But not for long. Major projects in the area, including construction on the new international airport, the Bradfield City precinct (the first major planned city in Australia in more than 100 years) and Moorebank's freight terminal, are all creating more jobs. On Western Sydney's northern side, 27,000 jobs – primarily professional occupations – were added in 2024. On the southern side, that number was just 13,400, made up of primarily blue-collar jobs. Between the two sides, Parramatta acts as what Rawnsley labelled a blurry demarcation line. That divide was concerning for social mobility: 'You would like to have a city where, in a street, you could have a service worker, a labourer, a lawyer and a doctor, all stretched on the one street. It doesn't always work that way, but having that diversity of workforce is good because you can have local services coming through and for the next generation to have … wide social networks.'
