Sydney’s nightlife generating jobs

Sydney’s nightlife is generating $15 billion in revenue and accounting for a third of all jobs across the city.

Local government research from the City of Sydney reveals more than five times as much money is being spent on food and entertainment than on alcohol with 28.4 per cent of all jobs in the city generated from late night businesses and services.

The research project, the first of its kind in Australia, was given the green light by Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore and follows discussion about how to develop late night options for visitors and residents of the nation’s largest city.

Other key findings include:

* The core night-time businesses of food, alcohol and entertainment contributed $2.7 billion to the economy in 2009;
* Non-core businesses including retail, transport and accommodation, and services including hospitals, transport and policing contributed $12.48 billion to the night-time economy;
* 28.4 per cent of all jobs in the city come from late night businesses and services;
* Food led firms are the biggest after-dark business, contributing $1.4 billion in 2009;
* Entertainment led firms come next, contributing almost $870 million;
* Drinking-related businesses, such as pubs and bottleshops come third, contributing $425 million;
* The cost of managing the night time economy in police, hospital and transport expenses is around $120 million a year; and
* Retail is almost non-existent in the city after 6 pm.

The study found that almost 40 per cent of businesses in the Sydney Local Government Area play a role in the night time economy (as both core and non-core firms) and generate more than 107,000 of the city’s 387,000 jobs. Core night time businesses generated over 27,000 jobs alone.

Core businesses depend on night-time trade to be profitable, such as restaurants, night clubs and bars, while non-core businesses include those that trade both during the day and at night, including hotels and department stores.

Core and non-core night-time businesses were responsible for more than 18 per cent of the $83 billion in total sales turnover in Sydney in 2009. The night time economy also contributes at least $400 million a year in tax revenues, the study found.

One trend uncovered by the researchers is that more restaurants and food options are in hot demand, while the number of drink-related businesses has declined. Between 2006 and 2009, the number of pubs and bottle shops fell from 311 to 287 while restaurants, cafes and take-away food venues increased from 1,943 to 2,141.

The biggest single costs of running the city at night were:

* Transport, estimated at almost $65 million a year;
* Policing, at $25 million a year,
* Hospital admissions, at $4 million a year; and
* City of Sydney costs including compliance officers, rangers, waste management and other expenses, an estimated $30 million a year.