Updated 8
July 2020
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Penny
Vandenbroek
Statistics and Mapping
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 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 (for example, a 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 (for example,
a shift roster).
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
measure of employment relates to people aged 15 years and over who during the
survey reference week worked for one hour or more for some form of
remuneration, or without pay in a family business or on a farm, or were people
who had a job but were temporarily not at work (for example, on leave or
temporarily stood down). More detail is provided in the quick guide, Employment
statistics.
How are industries classified?
Industries are defined through the ABS, Australian
and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (Revision
2.0) (cat. no. 1292.0). The ANZSIC allows for the
grouping of businesses that undertake similar activities, enabling like
businesses to be grouped without duplication. A business includes any entity
undertaking productive activities, including companies, not-for-profit
organisations, government departments and enterprises.
The 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).
Many labour statistics are released at the division level, to allow
some cross-classification by other characteristics, such as sex, a person’s
state/territory of usual residence, or income. Additional information on the concepts
and methods underpinning the classification is available from ANZSIC
(see Chapters 2, 3 and 4).
How is a job allocated to an industry?
Industry of employment relates to the activities undertaken by the
business for which a person works. Where a person works in more than one job,
the industry classification usually relates to their main job. Depending
on the statistical source, ‘main job’ is the one in which a person usually works
the most hours, however, it is sometimes the one in which a person receives the
most income. Some sources also provide details on a person’s second or
subsequent jobs.
For ABS household surveys, industry data is automatically coded to an
industry index based on 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 example of cafes and restaurants, this may include
activities such as delivering food or drinks, taking orders, or receiving cash.
Participants are also asked to provide the name of their business or employer,
to assist with coding when the activity descriptions prove difficult to match.
For ABS business surveys, industry data is coded to the industry index
according to the productive activity of a responding employer. Apart from
directly contacting employers to ask questions about their employees and
business operation, the ABS also releases administrative data, such as that
from the Linked Employer-Employee Dataset (LEED). The LEED draws on personal
income tax data (provided by the Australian Tax Office) in combination with
analytical business data. The results are output through a range of releases, including
Jobs in Australia.
What are the key ABS sources for industry data?
The ABS produces industry estimates through
a series of labour releases. The most relevant are briefly described, with an emphasis
on free published data. Appendix 1 also provides a matrix which can be used to
look up industry by particular characteristics for selected data sources.
Labour
Force, detailed, quarterly (cat. no. 6291.0.55.003)
This release provides a range of industry employment
estimates (main job) in trend, seasonally adjusted and original series. More
detailed industry levels (e.g. group) and division level by other
characteristics (e.g. sex, hours worked), are included. Regional (Statistical
Area Level 4, SA4) data is available by industry division. The same release
provides occupation estimates.
Jobs in
Australia (cat. no. 6160.0)
This release provides information on jobs
by industry, including counts of jobs by different types of job holders. Most
industry data can be cross-classified by sex, by median employment income (per
job) or by smaller geographic areas (e.g. Statistical Area Level 2, SA2s).
Labour
Account Australia (cat. no. 6150.0.55.003)
The ABS suggests this is the most
comprehensive source for industry estimates, as it includes adjustments to
allow for additional jobs/workers (e.g. second jobs, defence workers,
non-resident workers and child workers). This data set allows for person and
job level analysis, contains hours (volume), payments and labour costs. Data is
only available at the division level and is not available for states or
regions.
Characteristics
of employment (cat. no. 6333.0)
This release contains estimates of employees
by industry division (main job) and a range of other characteristics.
Employee
earnings and hours (cat. no. 6306.0)
This release includes employee estimates by division
level by earnings and other selected characteristics, such as methods of
setting pay (e.g. award).
Average
weekly earnings (cat. no. 6302.0)
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.
Census
of Population and Housing
This source provides detailed industry data (e.g.
group) by a range of socio-economic and demographic characteristics, as well as
by a range of geographical areas (including Commonwealth Electoral Divisions).
The Census is run every five years and was last held in August 2016.
Australian
Industry (cat. no. 8155.0)
This (annual) release provides estimates of
employment and business activities, such as income, expenses, operating profit
before tax, depreciation, and industry added value. Division and subdivision
data are available by state/territory. Size of business is provided by
division.
Weekly
payroll jobs and wages in Australia (cat. no.
6160.0.55.001)
An experimental ABS release providing percentage change
updates to employee jobs (and wages) from the 100th confirmed case of COVID-19
(week ending 14 March 2020) and selected periods. It includes industry division
by state/territory, by sex or by selected ages, as well as industry subdivision
(no further breakdowns).
What are some of the key measures?
Following are some examples of industry data
available based on the above mentioned sources.
Employment by industry (head count)
Table 1 (on the next page) provides the
number of employed people (trend) for each industry, the percentage change
reflects the difference in the number of workers between the two periods. This
table is based on person level data, that is, how many people worked in each
industry (main job). It is also possible to analyse industry by the number of
filled jobs (provides a higher estimate than persons) or job holders (encompasses
secondary and sometimes subsequent jobs).
Table 1. Snapshot of employment by industry(a)—March
2019 to March 2020 (trend)
(a) Industry of main job (most hours usually worked).
(b) Based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industry
Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (R2.0),
cat. no 1292.0.
Source: ABS, Labour Account Australia, March 2020, cat. no. 6150.0.55.003
Share of industry employment (per cent)
Figure 1 (below) provides a visual representation
of the number of people employed by each industry as a share of total
employment (the sum of the components adds to the total). The calculations are
based on data presented in Table 1.
Figure
1. Industry share of total employment—March 2020 (trend)
Table 2. Share of employed persons by industry(a)—selected
years to March 2020 (trend)
(a) Industry of main job (most hours usually worked).
(b) Based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industry
Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (R2.0),
cat. no 1292.0.
Source: ABS, Labour Account Australia, March 2020, cat. no. 6150.0.55.003
Figure 2 (below) provides industry division
by sex, but other demographic and/or employment characteristics are available
from a suite of ABS labour releases (see pp. 2-3).
Figure 2. Men's and women's top five industries, with
comparison data—Feb 2020(a)(b)(c)
(a) Annual average of four quarters of original data ending
Feb 2020.
(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 — Retail Trade and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services.
Source: ABS, Labour force, detailed, quarterly, Feb 2020, cat. no. 6291.0.55.003
Where do I find regional employment?
The Labour
Market Information Portal provides a summary of the ABS quarterly industry
(division) data by labour force regions (SA4s). For each region the website also
includes summary labour force indicators, occupation data, and population data.
The ABS Jobs in
Australia data set provides industry division by various geographic
regions, including very small areas (SA2s) and Local Government Areas (LGAs).
Where do I find data on casual
workers?
Data on employees without paid leave entitlements is
generally used as a proxy for ‘casuals’. The ABS provides industry division by
casuals in the quarterly Labour
force (see’ Status in employment’) and in the annual release, Characteristics
of Employment.
Where do I find wages (earnings)?
There are three main ABS sources for earnings by industry:
Characteristics
of Employment, Employee
Earnings and Hours and Jobs in Australia.
Each source differs in what can be cross-classified by industry, such as median
hourly earnings, or earnings by rate of pay. See the matrix in Appendix 1 for
data availability.
Where can I find selected industry
data?
Tourism
‘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. The 2012 ABS Year Book
article, 'Tourism
industry' (cat. no. 1301.0) provides further detail on the concept and
measurement of ‘tourism’.
Employment figures are published in the annual release, Australian National
Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account (cat. no. 5249.0). 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 and that estimates of employment are merely a by-product of this
process. It does, however provide estimates of workers involved in direct
tourism industries (e.g. Retail, Casinos), by sex and by employment status. Appendix
1 of the publication includes a ‘Tourism industry’
correspondence to the ANZSIC.
State/territory data is available from Tourism Research Australia
based on the ABS annual release.
ICT sector (digital workers)
The Australian Computer Society publishes an annual
snapshot of the digital economy and workforce, Australia’s
digital pulse (from 2015 onwards). Earlier information is available
from Australian
ICT Statistical Compendium. The reports include estimates of employment
(ABS data), workforce skills, ICT workers by industry, future demand for ICT
workers, university students enrolled in ICT and migration of ICT workers. Some
business indicators (e.g. trade and investment in ICT, innovation and start-ups)
are also included.
Farming
Farmers are generally people who work in the ‘Agriculture,
forestry and fishing’ division, with the subdivision ‘Agriculture’ of most
relevance. Industry group provides more nuanced data, for example on people
working in ‘Sheep, beef cattle and grain farming’ or ‘Fruit and tree nut
growing’. For an estimate of the number of ‘farmers’, however, the occupation
framework allows for identification of people who were a ‘Farmer’ or ‘Farm
manager’, as well as various types of ‘Farm workers’. The ABS quarterly Labour
force provides detailed occupation data.
ABARES
(Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences) produce
a range of data and reports on farming and farm-related activities.
Hospitality
Hospitality workers are generally employed by the industry
‘Accommodation and food services’, with some exceptions, such as those who work
for a sporting club, live entertainment venue or in a casino. The subdivision
‘Food and beverage services’ covers many hospitality workers, with further
classification available at the group level. ‘Hospitality workers’ in the
occupation framework allows for greater coverage of people working across the
many types of venues. The ABS quarterly Labour
force provides detailed occupation data.
Where do I find apprentice and
trainee figures?
The NCVER (National
Centre for Vocational Education and Research) provides quarterly updates on
apprentice and trainee enrolments and completions, as well as more
comprehensive annual digests and a range of research papers.
The ABS also publishes estimates of apprentices and
trainees by limited industries in their annual release, Education and Work
(see Tables 19-20).
Where do I find trade union
membership?
The ABS publishes estimates of employees by trade union
membership status and industry every two years in Characteristics
of Employment (see Table 3 of the August 2018 release).
Where do I find projected
employment growth?
The Labour
Market Information Portal provides industry projections to May 2024
(based on the five years from May 2019), including by labour force regions (SA4s).
Does any data set provide a ‘whole of business’ view?
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) data set
provides data on all people employed by a business, from senior to
junior roles. Data can be analysed by industry through the interactive tool, Data Explorer. In 2018–19 the
data set covered more than four million employees, representing about 40% of
the total Australian labour force. Note the data excludes the public
sector and businesses with fewer than 100 employees.
Where are industry award conditions
listed?
The Fair Work Ombudsman provides a list
of (modern) awards, which outline the minimum wages and conditions for
employees. The list can be browsed by industry and occupation.
Appendix 1. Where can I find ABS industry
data by ...?
The following matrix provides an indication of
where to find industry data by particular characteristics for selected ABS sources.
This is not an exhaustive list with additional sources noted in this paper.
Notes
(a) Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing are
excluded from the industry data. Median earnings are limited to a sub-set of
employed.
(b) A proxy is used for this item –
employees without paid leave entitlements.
(c) Available every two years.
(d) This item is also referred to as
'Business size' and 'Employer size'.
For copyright reasons some linked items are only available to members of Parliament.
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