NSW report estimates 619,000 workers are in climate-exposed jobs

A new NSW government report estimates that about 619,000 workers—roughly one in seven employed people in the state—work in occupations exposed to climate hazards. The October 12 release says the report reviews existing research and uses modelled estimates of workforce exposure now and over the next 40 years. It is not a count of workers injured, displaced or made unemployed by climate change.

The report identifies construction as the largest climate-exposed industry and says regional NSW has the highest concentration, at about one in five workers. It points to practical workplace adaptations including changing schedules during extreme heat, additional rest breaks, shade and drinking water, and weather or air-quality alerts. These are recommendations in the report; the release does not measure how widely employers have adopted them or their effect on health and employment.