THE Coffs Harbour-Grafton region was halfway down the scale in terms of the country's most industrially diverse regions in 2011, a new Australian Bureau of Statistics study has found.

Researchers split the country into 94 statistical regions and compared how their workforces were spread across different industries.

Coffs Harbour-Grafton took out the 42nd most diverse slot, with health care and social assistance named the biggest employer (7475 workers).

Retail trade was the next biggest job market (6719 workers), followed by education, accommodation and food services (4774) and construction (4443).

Residents were least likely to find jobs in the mining sector (213 workers), information technology (541) and electricity, gas, water and waste services (549).

The report stated an even spread of job types could be seen as a strength or a weakness.

Areas such as the Silicon Valley in the United States, with its intense concentration on technology, or financial clusters in London, New York and Tokyo are able to share suppliers, knowledge and customers between companies to get an edge on their out-of-town competitors.

But it has its drawbacks, too. Geelong's over-reliance on the automotive manufacturing industry was proven dangerous when major companies pulled out of Australia to pursue lower costs in Asia. The region is actively shifting away from specialisation due to the risk associated with reliance on a few industries.

MOST INDUSTRIALLY DIVERSE REGIONS

LEAST INDUSTRIALLY DIVERSE REGIONS

More here:

Health care is king of local employers