Surveyors from City of Sydney Council will visit 8,000 buildings over the next six months as it looks to gain insights for its Floor Space and Employment survey, which will provide designers and employers with crucial information on occupancy levels post-pandemic.
Taking place every five years, the survey indicates the scale of Sydney’s most important industries, as well as the number of workers in the city. Given that hybrid working models are in place, it is expected occupancy levels will drop significantly from the results posted in 2017’s survey.
“Sydney is still the heart of the NSW economy, but Covid has prompted a shift in the way many of us work and live,” says Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore.
“This survey is a vital tool to track changes in how the city is used by people across greater Sydney and will give us a picture of how space is being deployed on every floor of every building in our area.
“It will help us understand how employment and business activity has changed in the wake of the pandemic and will guide our strategic planning and policy decisions as we adapt to this new normal.”
Surveyors will cover some 17 million square metres of business floor space during their six months in the field. They will collect data on how many jobs and workers are employed in a particular industry, the size and type of businesses, and how floor space is used.
The last floor space and employment survey in 2017 found that over 500,000 people worked in the city, with half of those in finance or professional services. Businesses in the city increased by nine percent between 2012 and 2017, with small businesses making up 84 percent of city businesses.
The results of the 2022 floor space and employment survey are expected to be available in mid 2023.
Image: Supplied
