Business NSW与悉尼大学商学院发布的报告揭示了新南威尔士州商业增长的地域分化现象。[1]西悉尼已成为该州最活跃的创业中心，2017年至2025年间新增就业企业约23000家，相比之下东悉尼同期仅增加约10000家。[1]按照当前增长趋势，西悉尼将在2041年前拥有比东悉尼更多的就业企业。[1]在西悉尼内部，Blacktown区就业企业增长率达17%，Canterbury Bankstown增长13.5%，Hawkesbury增长13.2%，Fairfield增长13.1%。[1]
然而报告同时指出，新州面临严重的"缺失的中层"问题。[1]拥有员工的企业主比例正在持续下滑，从1997年的8%降至目前不足5%，创下35年来最低水平。[1]这一趋势在两性中均有体现，但女性企业家的下降幅度更为显著——男性就业企业主占比从2001年的10.6%下降至2026年初的6.7%，跌幅为36.6%；女性占比则从2001年末的6.4%下降至2026年初的2.7%，跌幅达56.9%，两性间差距扩大至20.3个百分点。[1]新企业在成立第一年内开始雇员的比例也在萎缩，从2011年的35%下降至2025年的27%。[1]若维持8%的创业率，新州将额外拥有135000名潜在企业家。[1]
A report released by Business NSW has identified Western Sydney as New South Wales' most dynamic entrepreneurial hub, with approximately 23,000 new employment-generating businesses established between 2017 and 2025, significantly outpacing Eastern Sydney's 10,000 new ventures [1]. At the current growth trajectory, Western Sydney is projected to surpass Eastern Sydney in the number of employment-generating businesses before 2041 [1]. Within Western Sydney, several regions are driving this expansion, including Blacktown with a 17% growth rate in employment-generating enterprises, Canterbury Bankstown at 13.5%, Hawkesbury at 13.2%, and Fairfield at 13.1% [1].
However, the report also highlights a critical challenge facing NSW: the "missing middle" problem affecting business progression. The proportion of the workforce that both owns and manages businesses with employees has fallen from 8% in 1997 to below 5% today—the lowest level in 35 years [1]. This slowdown is particularly pronounced among women entrepreneurs, with the percentage of female employment-generating business owners declining 56.9% from 6.4% in late 2001 to 2.7% in early 2026, compared to a 36.6% drop among men from 10.6% to 6.7% over the same period, creating a gender gap of 20.3 percentage points [1]. Additionally, the proportion of new businesses that hire employees in their first year has contracted from 35% in 2011 to 27% in 2025 [1]. Should NSW maintain its historical 8% entrepreneurship rate, the state would have 135,000 more potential business owners [1].