Posted 18/06/2021 by Penny Vandenbroek
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) releases quarterly estimates of employed people by industry (in their main job, if a person holds more than one job) in the publication Labour Force, Australia, Detailed. Quarterly data is available since November 1984, with the most recent data being February 2021.
Estimates of employment by industry division are currently available in seasonally adjusted and original series. The ABS suspended the trend series in April 2020 due to the uncertainty of estimate adjustments related to the COVID-19 pandemic. For finer level detail on industry of employment (e.g. sub-division), the ABS release original (unadjusted) estimates. Industry data is classified across 19 divisions, according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (Revision 2.0) (see Chapter 8 – The detailed classification).
Given the ongoing interest in employment by industry, two previously published tables have been updated for comparable periods. Table 1 presents estimates from the seasonally adjusted series (note this differs from earlier published tables, which presented trend data) and Table 2 presents a four-quarter average of the original series by sex. The estimates represent national figures; however, they are also available by state/territory, greater capital city/balance of state, and labour market region (Statistical Area Level 4, or SA4). For different time periods, or for other employment characteristics, refer to the detailed release. For additional information on this theme, refer to the Parliamentary Library publication, Employment by industry statistics: a quick guide (published 8 July 2020).
Table 1: employed people by industry—Feb 2019, 2020 and 2021 (quarterly, seasonally adjusted)
|
Employed people |
|
Proportion of total employed |
|
Feb-19 |
Feb-20 |
Feb-21 |
Change Feb-20
to Feb-21 |
Feb-19 |
Feb-20 |
Feb-21 |
| Industry of employment (Division) |
('000) |
('000) |
('000) |
(%) |
(%) |
(%) |
(%) |
| Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing |
333.6 |
324.9 |
325.4 |
0.2 |
2.6 |
2.5 |
2.5 |
| Mining |
247.9 |
241.5 |
252.1 |
4.4 |
1.9 |
1.9 |
1.9 |
| Manufacturing |
866.0 |
922.8 |
902.0 |
-2.3 |
6.8 |
7.1 |
6.9 |
| Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services |
150.3 |
132.8 |
151.1 |
13.8 |
1.2 |
1.0 |
1.2 |
| Construction |
1,146.9 |
1,183.5 |
1,153.9 |
-2.5 |
9.0 |
9.1 |
8.9 |
| Wholesale Trade |
386.3 |
390.6 |
390.9 |
0.1 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
| Retail Trade |
1,280.7 |
1,244.4 |
1,322.0 |
6.2 |
10.0 |
9.6 |
10.2 |
| Accommodation and Food Services |
911.3 |
937.3 |
851.0 |
-9.2 |
7.1 |
7.2 |
6.5 |
| Transport, Postal and Warehousing |
658.9 |
648.3 |
673.9 |
3.9 |
5.2 |
5.0 |
5.2 |
| Information Media and Telecommunications |
217.2 |
216.4 |
206.3 |
-4.7 |
1.7 |
1.7 |
1.6 |
| Financial and Insurance Services |
441.5 |
466.8 |
469.7 |
0.6 |
3.5 |
3.6 |
3.6 |
| Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services |
214.4 |
219.8 |
214.9 |
-2.2 |
1.7 |
1.7 |
1.7 |
| Professional, Scientific and Technical Services |
1,127.8 |
1,168.0 |
1,225.1 |
4.9 |
8.8 |
9.0 |
9.4 |
| Administrative and Support Services |
422.4 |
434.6 |
383.1 |
-11.9 |
3.3 |
3.3 |
2.9 |
| Public Administration and Safety |
858.3 |
824.6 |
848.4 |
2.9 |
6.7 |
6.3 |
6.5 |
| Education and Training |
1,025.7 |
1,125.1 |
1,089.6 |
-3.2 |
8.0 |
8.6 |
8.4 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance |
1,691.8 |
1,795.8 |
1,809.7 |
0.8 |
13.3 |
13.8 |
13.9 |
| Arts and Recreation Services |
250.9 |
247.9 |
242.5 |
-2.2 |
2.0 |
1.9 |
1.9 |
| Other Services |
525.6 |
489.2 |
505.4 |
3.3 |
4.1 |
3.8 |
3.9 |
| Total employed |
12,758.2 |
13,011.7 |
13,016.6 |
0.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
Notes: the estimates for Feb 2019 differ to those previously published due to the use of a different series (seasonally adjusted rather than trend). The sum of the components may not add to the total due to the seasonal adjustment process.
Table 2: share of industry employment by sex—Feb 2021 (average of four-quarters ending, original)
|
Employed people |
Proportion of employed |
|
Men |
Women |
Persons |
Men |
Women |
Persons |
| Industry of employment (Division) |
('000) |
('000) |
('000) |
(%) |
(%) |
(%) |
| Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing |
235.7 |
115.2 |
350.9 |
3.5 |
1.9 |
2.8 |
| Mining |
202.6 |
43.0 |
245.6 |
3.0 |
0.7 |
1.9 |
| Manufacturing |
606.7 |
253.4 |
860.1 |
9.1 |
4.2 |
6.8 |
| Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services |
119.9 |
37.6 |
157.5 |
1.8 |
0.6 |
1.2 |
| Construction |
1,002.8 |
160.9 |
1,163.7 |
15.0 |
2.7 |
9.2 |
| Wholesale Trade |
253.3 |
133.4 |
386.8 |
3.8 |
2.2 |
3.1 |
| Retail Trade |
572.9 |
681.2 |
1,254.1 |
8.6 |
11.4 |
9.9 |
| Accommodation and Food Services |
354.3 |
420.6 |
774.9 |
5.3 |
7.0 |
6.1 |
| Transport, Postal and Warehousing |
495.9 |
136.6 |
632.4 |
7.4 |
2.3 |
5.0 |
| Information Media and Telecommunications |
116.1 |
78.4 |
194.5 |
1.7 |
1.3 |
1.5 |
| Financial and Insurance Services |
251.6 |
232.5 |
484.1 |
3.8 |
3.9 |
3.8 |
| Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services |
107.9 |
104.7 |
212.6 |
1.6 |
1.7 |
1.7 |
| Professional, Scientific and Technical Services |
667.6 |
491.8 |
1,159.5 |
10.0 |
8.2 |
9.1 |
| Administrative and Support Services |
207.3 |
201.9 |
409.2 |
3.1 |
3.4 |
3.2 |
| Public Administration and Safety |
430.4 |
430.2 |
860.6 |
6.4 |
7.2 |
6.8 |
| Education and Training |
307.1 |
775.6 |
1,082.7 |
4.6 |
13.0 |
8.5 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance |
395.0 |
1,376.6 |
1,771.7 |
5.9 |
23.0 |
14.0 |
| Arts and Recreation Services |
109.8 |
101.1 |
210.9 |
1.6 |
1.7 |
1.7 |
| Other Services |
252.4 |
211.5 |
463.9 |
3.8 |
3.5 |
3.7 |
| Total employed |
6,689.2 |
5,986.2 |
12,675.5 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
Source: ABS, Labour Force, Australia, detailed, Mar 2021 [Table 04, Data cube EQ06 and Library calculations], retrieved 25 May 2021.
Other useful sources
The Department of Education, Skills and Employment publishes a selection of ABS industry statistics on their Labour Market Information Portal (LMIP), including regional data. The ‘ABS Labour Force Regions – data’ enables users to select a region using an interactive map. SA4 summary profiles give labour force indicators and the more detailed summary provides industry data: employment; employment status (full-time/part-time); employment by gender; and employment distribution for SA4 vs state. The ‘employment by industry – five-year time series’ provides selected period snapshots (for example, November 2015, November 2019 and November 2020). The Department also publishes the regional ‘Employment projections by industry’ (level of employment change) for the five years to May 2024.