Filled jobs in the Health care and social assistance industry increased by 8.2 per cent over the year to September 2019, more than any other industry, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
ABS Chief Economist Bruce Hockman said “This growth further confirms Health care and social assistance as the industry with the greatest share of jobs in the Australian economy (at 13.0 per cent), followed by Retail trade (9.7 per cent).”
Jobs growth in the Health care and social assistance industry was lower in the September quarter 2019 than in recent quarters, increasing by 0.8 per cent. This increase was above the increase in all filled jobs in the economy, which grew by 0.6 per cent in the quarter, and 2.4 per cent over the year.
The number of multiple job holders in Australia (people who work secondary jobs) increased by 2.8 per cent in the quarter, with the multiple job holding rate increasing slightly, up to 6.0 per cent.
The number of job vacancies decreased over the quarter. This led to a fall in the measure of job vacancies as a proportion of total jobs, which dropped slightly to 1.6 per cent from the recent high of 1.7 per cent.
New sector data shows that the private sector is driving jobs growth
“Today’s release of the Labour Account includes some newly developed private and public sector estimates, which provide the highest quality insights into the relative contributions of the two sectors to jobs growth,” Mr Hockman said.
“The number of filled jobs in the private sector increased by 2.8 per cent over the past year, while the number of filled jobs in the public sector increased by 0.6 per cent,” he said. “In other words, around 96 per cent of the jobs growth in the past year has been in the private sector.”
The Labour Account is the best source of headline information on employment by industry and sector. The Labour Account has been specifically designed to produce industry and sector estimates that present the most coherent picture of the Australian labour market, and now includes data back to September 1994. The release includes a range of interesting spotlights that explore how industries in Australia have changed over time.
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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