Employment density projections
A key metric produced from an urban growth model is the future projections of employment/jobs for the region being model. These employment projections normally inform the region’s strategic plan and are often quoted by elected officials. It is important these employment projections are realistic and the employment density assumptions utilised by the model are well documented.
What determines employment projections is the Workspace Ratios (WSR) for various land uses supported by the model. The Workspace Ratio measures the amount of floor space per Employee/Worker. There are wide disparities in these land use Workspace Ratios. It varies from industry to industry, city regions (i.e. CBD vs outer suburbs), even county to county.
A study of Office Use in Australia by The University of New South Wales found employment densities in commercial offices varied from less than 10m2 per employee to greater than 50m2 per employee. This variance is over 500{1897c8b751ad578bd9a969480021909bcd327853590acbf66d5abd5e194cce96}. The average being 20.6m2 per employee. While this study was restricted to commercial office space, the same large variances exist with other non-residential land uses such as industrial and retail spaces.
Given these large variances it is important to ensure the urban growth model is configured with Workspace Ratios that represent the average for the region being modelled. In some cases, studies may need to be conducted to find the appropriate land use WSRs for the region.
To assist with this task we have taken the various studies from Australia, the United Kingdom and USA and summarised the Workspace Ratios from these studies in the tables below.
If there are other employment densities studies that you think should be included in this list, please leave a comment with the link to the study/report and we will include it in this post.
The City of Sydney, NSW Australia
City of Sydney Floor Space and Employment Survey 2012
The City of Sydney undertakes a comprehensive Floor Space and Employment Survey (FES) every five years to coincide with the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Census of Population and Housing. The FES collects data on all businesses, floor space uses and employment numbers for every building or property within the City of Sydney local government area. It provides a snapshot of the built form, land uses and economic activity of the City every five years. A summary of the Workspace Ratios from the report is provided below.
| City-Based Industry Sector | Sq mtr per Employee |
|---|---|
| Community | 70 |
| Creative Industries | 39 |
| Finance and Financial Services | 18 |
| Food and Drink | 22 |
| Government | 36 |
| Health | 40 |
| Higher Education and Research | 47 |
| ICT | 28 |
| Life Science (Bio-tech) | 33 |
| Manufacturing | 61 |
| Motor Vehicle | 104 |
| Natural Resource-Based Industries | 23 |
| Professional and Business Services | 21 |
| Property Development and Operation | 30 |
| Retail and Personal Services | 44 |
| Social Capital | 53 |
| Tourist, Cultural and Leisure | 105 |
| Transport and Logistics | 111 |
| Utilities | 62 |
City of Perth, WA Australia
The Evolving City December 2009
An atlas of change in the city of Perth 1990-2007
This is the fourth publication in an ongoing series that monitors and analyses significant patterns and emerging trends in land use and employment in the city of Perth since 1990. The Evolving City is fundamentally a statistical publication accompanied by an objective technical analysis of changes over time. The following Workspace Ratios combines the floorspace and employment totals from the four precinct areas described in the report.
| Planning Land Use Category | Sq mtr per Employee |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing/Processing/Fabrication | 31 |
| Storage/Distribution | 145 |
| Service Industry | 44 |
| Shop/Retail | 29 |
| Other Retail | 77 |
| Office/Business | 24 |
| Health/Welfare/Community Services | 34 |
| Entertainment/Recreation/Culture | 56 |
| Residential | 161 |
| Utilities/Communications | 54 |
The report also included a sector-wide analysis of activity types present in the city. The Workspace Ratios for these activities are summarised below.
| Category | Activity Type | Sq mtr per Employee |
|---|---|---|
| Mining Services | ||
| Iron Ore | 41 | |
| Energy | 46 | |
| Other Mining | 28 | |
| Computing and Communication | ||
| Computing Services | 22 | |
| Information Services | 28 | |
| Telecommunications | 28 | |
| Legal Services | ||
| Legal | 44 | |
| Education | ||
| Primary and Secondary | 51 | |
| Tertiary | 104 | |
| Specialist Training Schools | 36 | |
| Health | ||
| Hospitals | 29 | |
| Medical Practices | 25 | |
| Ancillary Health Care | 24 | |
| Medical Equipment | 19 | |
| Protective, Community and Welfare Services | ||
| Protective Services | 19 | |
| Community Services | 30 | |
| Welfare Services | 17 | |
| Culture | ||
| Performing Arts/Schools/Venues | 94 | |
| Libraries/Museums/Galleries | 32 | |
| Churches and Halls | 37 | |
| Other Places of Assembly and Exhibition | 87 | |
| Recreation / Entertainment | ||
| Passive | 0 | |
| Active | 26 | |
| Entertainment | 52 | |
| Fashion | ||
| Clothing, Footwear and Accessories – Retail | 44 | |
| Clothing, Footwear and Accessories – Wholesale | 64 | |
| Clothing, Footwear and Accessories – Manufacturing | 35 | |
| Hotels and Backpackers | ||
| Hotels | 181 | |
| Backpackers | 82 | |
| Other Lodgings | 108 | |
| Manufacturing | ||
| Printing and Publishing | 40 | |
| Jewellery Manufacturing | 19 | |
| Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing | 51 |
Town of Claremont, WA Australia
Claremont North-East Precinct Economic Review August 2008
The economic review of floor space, employment and expenditure within the Town of Claremont. The Town of Claremont commissioned Pracsys to produce this report. A summary of the Workspace Ratios from the review is provided below.
| Industry Sector | Sq mtr per Employee |
|---|---|
| Primary Industries/Rural | 200 |
| Manufacturing/Processing/Fabrication | 59 |
| Storage/Distribution | 174 |
| Service Industry | 74 |
| Shop Retail and Other Retail | 36 |
| Office/Business | 27 |
| Health/Welfare/Community Services | 36 |
| Entertainment/Recreation/Culture | 85 |
| Residential | 279 |
| Utilities/Communications | 62 |
Homes & Communities Agency, UK Government
Employment Densities Guide (2nd Edition) 2010
The purpose of this guide is to assist appraisers with employment generated by property development based on ‘employment density’ ratios. The guide is intended to be used in planning, appraising and evaluating of economic development and regeneration programmes and projects. The indicative employment density figures in the guide incorporate broad assumptions. Users should read the supporting narrative to understand how to apply the ratios. When development-specific information is available it should be used in preference to the indicative figures in this guide.
| Category | Use Type | Sq mtr per Employee |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial | ||
| General | 36 | |
| Light Industry (Business Park) | 47 | |
| Warehouse & Distribution | ||
| General | 70 | |
| Large Scale and High Bay Warehousing | 80 | |
| Office | ||
| General Office | 12 | |
| Call Centres | 8 | |
| IT/ Data Centres | 47 | |
| Business Park | 10 | |
| Serviced Office | 10 | |
| Retail | ||
| Town/City Centre | 19 | |
| Food Superstores | 17 | |
| Other Superstores/ Retail Warehouses | 90 | |
| Financial & Professional Services | 16 | |
| Restaurants & Cafes | 18 | |
| Leisure & Visitor Attractions | ||
| Budget Hotels | 1 employee per 3 bedrooms | |
| General Hotels (3 star) | 1 employee per 2 bedrooms | |
| 4/ 5 Star Hotels | 1 employee per 1.25 bedrooms | |
| Cultural Attractions | 36 | |
| Cinemas | 90 | |
| Amusement & Entertainment Centres | 70 | |
| Sports centres and Private Clubs | 65 |
London Borough of Waltham Forest, United Kingdom
Employment Densities 2001
This report gives guidance and references to assist the appraisal, monitoring and evaluation of employment densities for various types of property developments. It has been produced by Arup Economics and Planning for English Partnerships and has been supported by English Partnerships and Regional Development Agencies Best Practice Group. The Workspace Ratios from this report is provided in the following table.
| Category | Use Type | Sq mtr per Employee |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial | ||
| General | 34 | |
| Small business units | 32 | |
| High tech / R&D (non-Science Park) | 29 | |
| Science Park | 32 | |
| Warehouse & Distribution | ||
| General Warehousing | 50 | |
| Large Scale and High Bay Warehousing | 80 | |
| Office | ||
| General (purpose built) Offices | 19 | |
| Headquarters | 22 | |
| Serviced Business Centre | 20 | |
| City of London | 20 | |
| Business Park | 16 | |
| Call Centres | 12.8 | |
| Retail | ||
| Town/City Centre | 20 | |
| Food Superstores | 19 | |
| Other Superstores/ Retail Warehouses | 90 | |
| Leisure & Visitor Attractions | ||
| Budget Hotels | 1 employee per 2 bedrooms | |
| General Hotels (3 star) | 1 employee per 3 bedrooms | |
| 4/ 5 Star Hotels | 1 employee per 0.8 bedrooms | |
| Restaurants | 13 | |
| Cultural Attractions | 36 | |
| Cinemas | 90 | |
| Amusement & Entertainment Centres | 40 | |
| Sports Centres | 90 | |
| Private Clubs | 55 |
Southern California Association of Governments, USA
Employment Density Study Summary Report – October 2001
The objective of this study was to derive employment density factors for use in the Small Area Allocation Model (SAAM) developed by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). SCAG members are: Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County and Imperial County. The study has estimated employment densities for ten major land use categories. The acres per employee metrics in the study have been converted to Sq mtr per employee for inclusion in the tables below. The following displays the average employment densities across the region for each land use category.
| Land Use Category | Sq mtr per Employee |
|---|---|
| Regional Retail | 5 |
| Other Retail/Services | 12 |
| Low-Rise Office | 14 |
| High-Rise Office | 13 |
| Hotel/Motel | 4 |
| R & D/Flex Space | 12 |
| Light Manufacturing | 9 |
| Heavy Manufacturing | — |
| Warehouse | 5 |
| Government Offices | 16 |
The following table contains the employment densities of land uses that were consolidated into the above land use categories. It is important to recognise that these factors are drawn from a much smaller sample of parcel records and therefore do not provide the same “level of confidence” as provided by the regional land use categories.
| Land Use | Sq mtr per Employee |
|---|---|
| Trailer Parks and Mobile Home Courts, High Density | 3317 |
| Trailer Parks and Mobile Home Courts, Low Density | 9635 |
| Low to Medium Rise major Office Use | 92 |
| High-Rise Major Office Use | 20 |
| Skyscrapers | 6 |
| Regional Shopping Centre | 237 |
| Retail Centres (Non-Strip with off-street parking) | 235 |
| Modern Strip Development | 215 |
| Older Strip Development | 130 |
| Commercial Storage | 495 |
| Commercial Recreation | 415 |
| Hotels and Motels | 127 |
| Attended Pay Public Parking Facilities | 59 |
| Government Offices | 76 |
| Police and Sheriff Stations | 81 |
| Fire Stations | 119 |
| Major Medical Health Care Facilities | 104 |
| Religious Facilities | 351 |
| Other Public Facilities | 198 |
| Non-Attended Public Parking Facilities | 108 |
| Correctional Facilities | 593 |
| Special Care Facilities | 272 |
| Other Special Use Facilities | 255 |
| Pre-Schools/Day Care Centres | 231 |
| Elementary Schools | 546 |
| Junior High Schools | 789 |
| Senior High Schools | 922 |
| Colleges and Universities | 586 |
| Trade Schools | 258 |
| Base (Built-Up Area) | 621 |
| Manufacturing, Assembly, and Industrial Services | 248 |
| Motion Picture and Television Studio Lots | 115 |
| Packing Houses and Grain Elevators | 667 |
| Research and Development | 307 |
| Manufacturing | 131 |
| Petroleum Refining and Processing | 2312 |
| Open Storage | 833 |
| Major Metal Processing | 10117 |
| Chemical Processing | 222 |
| Mineral Extraction – Other Than Oil and Gas | 3264 |
| Mineral Extraction – Oil and Gas | 4305 |
| Wholesaling and Warehousing | 362 |
| Airports | 1143 |
| Rail-roads | 1065 |
| Free-ways and Major Roads | 1194 |
| Park and Ride Lots | 75 |
| Bus Terminals and Yards | 249 |
| Truck Terminals | 251 |
| Harbour Facilities | 1420 |
| Communication Facilities | 166 |
| Electrical Power Facilities | 3113 |
| Sold Waste Disposal Facilities | 2453 |
| Liquid Waste Disposal Facilities | 1848 |
| Water Storage Facilities | 843 |
| Natural Gas and Petroleum Facilities | 697 |
| Water Transfer Facilities | 10117 |
| Improved Flood Waterways and Structures | 2870 |
| Mixed Wind Energy Generation and Percolation Basin | 1760 |
| Maintenance Yards | 307 |
| Mixed Transportation | 574 |
| Mixed Transportation and Utility | 8431 |
| Mixed Commercial and Industrial | 159 |
| Mixed Urban | 236 |
| Golf Courses | 3401 |
| Local Parks and Recreation | 618 |
| Regional Parks and Recreation | 2734 |
| Cemeteries | 3430 |
| Wildlife Preserves and Sanctuaries | 7494 |
| Specimen Gardens and Arboretum | 3613 |
| Beach Parks | 7636 |
| Other Open Space and Recreation | 489 |
| Irrigated Cropland and Improved Pasture Land | 31130 |
| Non-Irrigated Cropland and Improved Pasture Land | 31130 |
| Orchards and Vineyards | 26979 |
| Nurseries | 1936 |
| Dairy and Intensive Livestock And Associated Facilities | 14453 |
| Poultry Operations | 2594 |
| Other Agriculture | 1900 |
| Horse Ranches | 2753 |
| Marina Water Facilities | 571 |
