Filled jobs in the Professional, scientific and technical services industry increased by 7.1 per cent over the year to December 2019, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
ABS Chief Economist Bruce Hockman said “Filled jobs in Professional, scientific and technical services grew by 4.0 per cent in December quarter 2019, considerably faster than Health care and social assistance - the other fast growing, large employing industry - which grew by 2.7 per cent. It remained the third largest employing industry, behind Health care and social assistance and Retail trade”.
The increase in filled jobs in Professional, scientific and technical services was well above the general increase across the economy, with total filled jobs growing by 0.9 per cent in the quarter, and 1.9 per cent over the year.
Of the increase in jobs worked in the December quarter 2019, around 3 in 4 (76%) were jobs worked by someone as their main job, with the remainder being secondary jobs (24%). The number of multiple job holders in Australia (people who worked multiple jobs at the same time) decreased by 1.1 per cent in the quarter, with the multiple job holding rate also decreasing slightly, down to 5.9 per cent of all employed people.
The number of job vacancies increased over the quarter, the first quarterly increase since March 2019. The measure of job vacancies as a proportion of total jobs remained steady at 1.6 per cent.
“Filled jobs in the private sector increased by 2.0 per cent over the past year, while the number of filled jobs in the public sector increased by 0.9 per cent, “Mr Hockman said. “Around 93 per cent of the jobs growth over 2019 was in the private sector.”
The Labour Account is the best source of headline information on employment by industry and sector, and includes data back to September 1994.
Further details can be found in Labour Account Australia, Quarterly Experimental Estimates (cat. no. 6150.0.55.003). These are available for free download from www.abs.gov.au.
Media note:
- The Australian Labour Account complements other ABS measures to build a more comprehensive picture of the labour market. Labour Account data provides the number of filled jobs at a point-in-time each quarter, while the Jobs in Australia data provides insights into all jobs held throughout the year, and Labour Force Survey data measures the number of people employed each month.
- Data contained in this media release refer to seasonally adjusted estimates, unless otherwise stated.
- When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.
- For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Media team at media@abs.gov.au or on 1300 175 070 (8.30 am - 5pm Mon-Fri).
- A glossary of terms used in this media releases is available with the publication.
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