(Ac)counting for night shift workers: Insights from Australian cities

Recognition for the importance of the night-time economy (NTE) in cities is mounting in both academia and policy. Yet, much of this discourse is centred on the consumption side of the NTE. Analytical and policy insights into the role of those who work to keep our cities ticking 24/7 and the NTE flourishing is still severely limited. Just how many people work at night? And how can we count them? Current assessments, where at all present, often diverge drastically, whilst cities and countries step up more and more policy efforts to grow the NTE. We present here a case study, centred on the task of assessing the Australian night-time economy’s workforce, to underscore continuing challenges in accounting for night shift workers. We underline how counting night shift workers provides for a more effective evidence base for urban policy. We demonstrate both definitional difficulties and data limitations, arguing for the pressing need for more precise urban science of the night, and of the NTE specifically, as a precondition to stepping up our engagement with night shift workers, in order to account for them in policymaking.