Updated 23 March 2018
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Penny Vandenbroek
Statistics and Mapping Section
Introduction
This guide provides a brief overview of
employment by industry and lists some relevant data sources. This is one in a
series of statistical quick guides, designed to provide a basic understanding
of Australian labour market data. Other guides include employment
and labour
force, which are available from the Parliamentary
Library website.
Who are employed people?
The International
Labour Organization (ILO) (p.21) describes employed people as those of
working age who during a short reference period (e.g. week) engaged in any
activity to produce goods or provide services for pay or profit. This includes
employed persons “at work” (i.e. at least one hour) and those who were “not at
work”, either temporarily, or due to working-time arrangements (e.g. shift
roster). The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
measure of employment is provided in the next segment and additional employment
concepts and measures are available from the quick guide on Employment
statistics.
How is employment measured?
The ABS Labour
Force Survey is designed to produce key estimates of employment (and
unemployment) from a sample of approximately 50,000 people.
|
Employed persons are those aged 15 years and over who, during the reference week:
- worked for one hour or more for
pay, profit, commission or payment in-kind, in a job or business or on a farm,
or
- worked for one hour or more without
pay in a family business or on a farm, or
- were employees, business owners or
self-employed people who had a job but were temporarily not at work.
|
Note that the Labour Force Survey excludes some
groups of people, including those living in institutions, members of permanent
defence forces, certain diplomatic personnel, and overseas residents. More
information is available from the ABS.
Industry
Industry is a commonly used economic classification of
employment. Industries are defined by the ABS through the
Australian
and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (Revision
2.0) (cat. no. 1292.0). The classification allows for the
grouping of businesses that undertake similar activities, enabling integration
of like businesses without duplication. A business includes any entity
undertaking productive activities, including companies, not-for-profit
organisations, government departments and enterprises.
ANZSIC has a hierarchical structure with four levels:
-
Division (broadest level, or 1-digit)
-
Subdivision (2-digit)
-
Group (3-digit) and
-
Class (finest level, or 4-digit).
The division level has 19 categories, each identified by a letter (A to
S). Subsequent levels are labelled using numbers (two, three or four digits).
Example
Division C Manufacturing
Subdivision 23 Transport equipment manufacturing
Group 231 Motor vehicle and motor vehicle
part manufacturing
Class 2311 Motor vehicle manufacturing |
Generally, most labour statistics are released at the division
level, to allow some cross-classification by other characteristics, such as sex
or a person’s state/territory of usual residence. More detailed information on
the nature and objectives, units and methods of classification are available
from ANZSIC
(see Chapters 2, 3 and 4).
Industry of employment
A person’s industry of employment relates to the activities undertaken
by the business for which they work. Where a person works in more than one job,
the industry classification relates to their main job—the one in which they
usually work the most hours. Since the mid-2000s, industry data has been
automatically coded to an industry index from a survey participant’s responses.
Participants are asked to describe what kind of business or service is carried
out at the place where they work. Using the previous example of motor vehicle
manufacturing, a participant may include activities such as motor car
manufacturing, motor vehicle assembling or fuel cell manufacturing.
Participants are also asked for the name of their business or employer, to
assist with coding when the activity descriptions prove difficult to match.
This process however, may result in some inconsistencies, for which the ABS
makes no adjustment.
What types of estimates are
available?
Each month the ABS releases employment data
from the Labour
Force Survey. The release includes trend, seasonally adjusted and
original estimates of the number of people employed by a range of
characteristics. The quarterly labour
force release (February, May, August and November) includes estimates by
industry and by occupation. Other data sources for employment by industry will
be discussed elsewhere.
Industry of employment data is available in
a range of tables (Excel spreadsheets) and data cubes (pivot tables), see the ‘Downloads’
tab. The industry tables include: sex; state/territory of usual residence;
sector (public/private); hours actually worked (all jobs); and underemployment.
An expanded range of variables are available
via the data cubes, including:
-
age
-
greater capital city/balance of state
-
labour market region
-
status in employment (main job)
-
occupation
-
hours usually worked (all jobs) and
-
unemployment (industry division of last job).
Note: not all of these variables are
available in one table and in some cases they are split across multiple tables.
Employment by industry (head count)
Table 1 provides the number of employed
people (trend) from the November quarter 2016 to the same quarter in 2017. For
each industry, the percentage change reflects the difference in the number of
employed people between the two periods.
1. Snapshot of employment by industry—quarterly, 2016 to
2017(a)(b)
|
Employed
people |
|
|
Nov-16 |
Feb-17 |
May-17 |
Aug-17 |
Nov-17 |
Change in
employed
Nov-16
to Nov-17 |
| Industry division of employment(b) |
('000) |
('000) |
('000) |
('000) |
('000) |
(%) |
| Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing |
294.6 |
294.8 |
306.6 |
317.4 |
324.5 |
10.1 |
| Mining |
223.4 |
224.2 |
221.0 |
217.7 |
216.5 |
-3.1 |
| Manufacturing |
927.1 |
924.0 |
908.5 |
893.8 |
885.5 |
-4.5 |
| Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste
Services |
130.1 |
128.0 |
128.1 |
131.1 |
136.7 |
5.0 |
| Construction |
1,075.6 |
1,095.1 |
1,121.5 |
1,145.9 |
1,167.2 |
8.5 |
| Wholesale Trade |
378.8 |
383.5 |
386.8 |
383.9 |
376.7 |
-0.5 |
| Retail Trade |
1,226.9 |
1,229.9 |
1,245.7 |
1,266.0 |
1,286.9 |
4.9 |
| Accommodation and Food Services |
855.7 |
866.2 |
879.9 |
890.6 |
896.1 |
4.7 |
| Transport, Postal and Warehousing |
606.6 |
611.7 |
623.5 |
636.3 |
646.8 |
6.6 |
| Information Media and
Telecommunications |
210.3 |
213.9 |
215.0 |
215.4 |
215.0 |
2.2 |
| Financial and Insurance Services |
435.8 |
436.3 |
434.3 |
428.4 |
420.7 |
-3.5 |
| Rental, Hiring and Real Estate
Services |
218.2 |
216.3 |
215.0 |
216.2 |
218.7 |
0.2 |
| Professional, Scientific and Technical
Services |
1,031.0 |
1,028.0 |
1,024.4 |
1,030.0 |
1,033.0 |
0.2 |
| Administrative and Support Services |
433.2 |
422.7 |
409.5 |
403.4 |
401.2 |
-7.4 |
| Public Administration and Safety |
789.0 |
794.9 |
783.7 |
763.1 |
740.5 |
-6.1 |
| Education and Training |
971.0 |
979.5 |
990.2 |
1,006.1 |
1,024.3 |
5.5 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance |
1,540.1 |
1,563.2 |
1,602.9 |
1,637.6 |
1,663.9 |
8.0 |
| Arts and Recreation Services |
215.2 |
214.0 |
223.7 |
237.1 |
248.3 |
15.4 |
| Other Services |
480.0 |
482.3 |
494.4 |
510.6 |
524.5 |
9.3 |
| Total employed |
12,025.5 |
12,096.8 |
12,207.4 |
12,321.2 |
12,420.6 |
3.3 |
(a) Quarterly trend estimates. Based on a person's main
job (where more than one job was held).
(b) Based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industry
Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (R2.0),
cat. no 1292.0.
Source: ABS, Labour force, detailed, quarterly, Nov 2017, cat. no. 6291.0.55.003
Share of employment (per cent)
Table 2 provides the number of employed
people as a share of total employment for each industry division. The
calculations are based on Table 1 and reflect the same period, November 2016 to
November 2017.
2. Share of employed people by industry—quarterly, 2016
to 2017(a)(b)
|
Proportion of total employed |
|
Nov-16 |
Feb-17 |
May-17 |
Aug-17 |
Nov-17 |
| Industry division of employment(b) |
(%) |
(%) |
(%) |
(%) |
(%) |
| Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing |
2.5 |
2.4 |
2.5 |
2.6 |
2.6 |
| Mining |
1.9 |
1.9 |
1.8 |
1.8 |
1.7 |
| Manufacturing |
7.7 |
7.6 |
7.4 |
7.3 |
7.1 |
| Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste
Services |
1.1 |
1.1 |
1.0 |
1.1 |
1.1 |
| Construction |
8.9 |
9.1 |
9.2 |
9.3 |
9.4 |
| Wholesale Trade |
3.1 |
3.2 |
3.2 |
3.1 |
3.0 |
| Retail Trade |
10.2 |
10.2 |
10.2 |
10.3 |
10.4 |
| Accommodation and Food Services |
7.1 |
7.2 |
7.2 |
7.2 |
7.2 |
| Transport, Postal and Warehousing |
5.0 |
5.1 |
5.1 |
5.2 |
5.2 |
| Information Media and
Telecommunications |
1.7 |
1.8 |
1.8 |
1.7 |
1.7 |
| Financial and Insurance Services |
3.6 |
3.6 |
3.6 |
3.5 |
3.4 |
| Rental, Hiring and Real Estate
Services |
1.8 |
1.8 |
1.8 |
1.8 |
1.8 |
| Professional, Scientific and Technical
Services |
8.6 |
8.5 |
8.4 |
8.4 |
8.3 |
| Administrative and Support Services |
3.6 |
3.5 |
3.4 |
3.3 |
3.2 |
| Public Administration and Safety |
6.6 |
6.6 |
6.4 |
6.2 |
6.0 |
| Education and Training |
8.1 |
8.1 |
8.1 |
8.2 |
8.2 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance |
12.8 |
12.9 |
13.1 |
13.3 |
13.4 |
| Arts and Recreation Services |
1.8 |
1.8 |
1.8 |
1.9 |
2.0 |
| Other Services |
4.0 |
4.0 |
4.1 |
4.1 |
4.2 |
| Total employed |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
See Table 1 for notes and source information.
3. Men's
and women's top five industry shares, with comparison data—2017(a)(b)(c)
(a) Annual average of four quarters of original data,
February to November.
(b) Industry employment as a proportion of total male
or total female employment.
(c) Only two industries were in the ‘top five’ for both
sexes.
Source: ABS, Labour force, detailed, quarterly, Nov 2017, cat. no. 6291.0.55.003
Additional ABS data sources
The ABS produces a range of supplementary
labour estimates through a series of thematic releases. The most relevant of
these are briefly described below.
This release contains estimates of employed
people by a range of characteristics. Tables that include industry (division) mostly
relate to employees (main job). Some of the variables included are:
-
sex
-
weekly/hourly earnings (main job)
-
level of highest non-school qualification
-
status in employment (whether has leave entitlements)
-
form of employment (employees, independent contractors and other
business owners) and
-
skill level.
More detailed information may also be
available through the survey’s microdata release. From 2014 this survey replaced
several earlier surveys, including: Employee earnings,
benefits and trade union membership; Forms of employment;
Working time
arrangements; Labour mobility;
and Locations of
work.
This release contains a range of earnings
estimates by various employee characteristics. Tables that include industry
generally include an overall theme (rate of pay, age groups, method of setting
pay and distribution of earnings) by the number of employees, average weekly
total cash earnings and average age. For non-managerial employees, the industry
tables also include average weekly hours paid for and average hourly total cash
earnings. For full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate,
estimates by industry subdivision are available for weekly and hourly earnings
by sex.
This release contains limited data on
employees by industry, including: full-time adult ordinary time earnings,
full-time adult total earnings and total earnings, each by sex.
Economic indicators
The ABS also produces a range of products to
provide economic indicators of business activity. The most relevant is Australian
Industry, 2015-16 (cat. no. 8155.0). This release includes estimates of
employment and business activities, such as income, expenses, operating profit
before tax, depreciation, and industry added value. Table 1 provides time
series information on each industry division from 2006–07 (note that some data
sets start later than this). Table 2 provides the same details by industry subdivision.
There are also several special releases, covering Manufacturing, Mining, and
Professional, scientific and technical services.
Tourism sector
‘Tourism’ is not an industry in the conventional sense, in
that it does not fit neatly into a specific classification within ANZSIC.
Whether the production is included in the scope of tourism (or not) depends on
the characteristics of the consumer. For example, expenditure on a restaurant
meal by a visitor contributes to tourism’s share of the economy, whereas
expenditure by a local resident at the same restaurant does not. More
information surrounding the concept of ‘tourism’, and the components included
within the sector, is provided in the 2012 ABS Year Book article, Tourism
industry (cat. no. 1301.0).
Estimates of employment are provided in the annual
release, Australian
National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account (cat. no. 5249.0).
However, the ABS advises that the intent of the collection is to provide
information on the contribution of the ‘industry’ to the overall production of
goods and services in the economy (e.g. GDP measured by gross value added) and
that estimates of employment in the sector are merely a by-product of this
process.
Other data sources
Workplace Gender Equality Agency
data set
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) data set draws
on reports submitted by employers, covering four million employees across
Australia. In 2016–17 the data represented approximately 40% of the total
labour force. A key strength of the data set is that information on all
people employed by a business is included. A limitation of the data is that it
only represents non-public sector employers with 100 or more employees who are
required to report under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012. It
therefore excludes the public sector, small organisations and many medium sized
organisations. The Data Explorer
is an interactive website that provides a platform for the data to be
interpreted through key themes, including industry and gender equality. Summary information explains the
concepts used and assists in interpreting the data.
Department of Jobs and Small
Business
The Department publishes a number of industry reports
through their Labour Market
Information Portal, see ‘Gain insights’ > ‘Industry
information’. The reports provide a range of ABS and Departmental data. For
example, ‘Manufacturing’ provides summary employment data, including the
full-time share of employment, average full-time hours, gender split, growth
and projected growth. The report also provides the ‘Top 10 occupations’ for the
industry and links to supporting information (e.g. vacancy report). The
Department’s Job outlook
portal provides industry divisions by detailed (unit group) occupations. For
example, Manufacturing includes the following types of jobs: Aircraft
maintenance engineers, Cabinetmakers, Chemists and food and wine scientists,
Clothing trades workers, Forklift drivers, Printers, Technical sales
representatives, as well as many others.
The Department provides employment data for smaller
geographical areas, including ABS Labour force regions (Statistical Area Level 4,
SA4) and Employment regions (Centrelink framework), through the Labour Market Information Portal.
The dashboard summary provides key indicators: working age population (15–64
years); employment rate (15–64 years); participation rate (15+ years);
unemployment rate (15+ years); and youth unemployment rate (15+ years). Note: the
rates for people aged 15 plus align with ABS labour force releases. For each
region there are also charts and maps, downloadable summary data (Excel),
industry and occupation data.
Australian Computer Society – ICT
workers
Since 2015, the Australian Computer Society (ACS) has
published an annual snapshot of the digital economy and workforce in the
report, Australia’s
digital pulse. From 2009 to 2013, the ACS published similar information
in Australian
ICT Statistical Compendium. Included in the reports are estimates of
employment (ABS data), workforce skills, ICT workers by industry, ICT job
advertisements, worker mobility, diversity of ICT workers, future demand for
ICT workers, university students enrolled in ICT (and their characteristics)
and migration of ICT workers (including temporary skilled migrants). The report
also includes a range of business indicators, such as the contribution of
digital technologies to GDP, trade and investment in ICT, spending on R&D,
innovation and start-ups.
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