Labour Account Australia, March 2024

Key statistics - Seasonally adjusted
		Mar-24	Quarterly change (%)	Annual change (%)
Jobs
	Total jobs	16,030,500	0.7%	1.8%
	Filled jobs	15,664,900	0.8%	2.4%
	Job vacancies	365,500	-4.3%	-17.4%
	Main jobs	14,558,800	0.8%	2.2%
	Secondary jobs	1,106,200	1.3%	4.4%
	Proportion of vacant jobs	2.3%	na	na
People
	Employed people	14,561,100	0.7%	2.2%
	Multiple job holders	974,000	1.2%	2.9%
	Multiple job holding rate	6.7%	na	na
Hours
	Hours actually worked	5,848.1 million	0.1%	1.1%
Payments
	Average income per employed person	$23,852.80	0.6%	3.9%

Key statistics - Trend (a)
		Mar-24	Quarterly change (%)	Annual change (%)
Jobs
	Total jobs	16,022,600	0.7%	2.2%
	Filled jobs	15,654,300	0.8%	2.8%
	Job vacancies	368,300	-4.4%	-16.3%
	Main jobs	14,550,000	0.8%	2.6%
	Secondary jobs	1,104,300	0.7%	5.0%
	Proportion of vacant jobs	2.3%	na	na
People
	Employed people	14,550,700	0.6%	2.3%
	Multiple job holders	970,600	0.4%	2.5%
	Multiple job holding rate	6.7%	na	na
Hours
	Hours actually worked	5,852.4 million	0.1%	0.8%

a. The ABS will reinstate trend estimates in the Payments quadrant in the June quarter 2024 release on 6 September 2024. For more information, see Data Impacts and changes.

Labour Force statistics estimation improvements

As part of ongoing improvements to the estimation method for Labour Force statistics, the ABS implemented some minor changes to how it accounts for relatively small population groups within the sample in the February 2024 Labour Force release on 21 March 2024.

Revisions from this change are reflected in corresponding time series revisions to the Labour Account in this release. For more information, see Revisions this quarter.

Spotlight on the Labour Account

This release includes an article providing information on the Labour Account, its benefits and how it can be used to draw unique labour market insights (see Spotlight on the Labour Account).

Guide to labour statistics

To learn more about our different labour measures, their purpose and how to use them, see our Guide to labour statistics. It provides summary information on labour market topics including Industry employment data.

Data impacts and changes

Revisions this quarter

Seasonal adjustment and trend estimates

Changes to release page

Jobs

In seasonally adjusted terms, in the March quarter 2024:

filled jobs increased by 0.8%, following a 0.4% rise in the December quarter 2023, and 2.4% through the year
the number of main jobs increased by 109,100 (0.8%)
the proportion of vacant jobs decreased to 2.3%
the number of public sector jobs increased by 1.8%, while the number of private sector jobs increased by 0.2%.

Total jobs

In seasonally adjusted terms, in the March quarter 2024, the total number of jobs increased by 107,500 (0.7%). This consisted of an increase of 123,800 filled jobs and a decrease of 16,300 job vacancies.

Total jobs, by industry, seasonally adjusted
	Dec-2023 ('000)	Mar-2024 ('000)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)	472.6	480.1
Mining (B)	231.4	234.5
Manufacturing (C)	922.7	923.2
Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)	145.0	141.0
Construction (E)	1,254.4	1,261.0
Wholesale trade (F)	633.5	630.3
Retail trade (G)	1,485.5	1,490.8
Accommodation and food services (H)	1,136.0	1,115.1
Transport, postal and warehousing (I)	757.7	734.8
Information media and telecommunications (J)	211.5	216.1
Financial and insurance services (K)	525.7	530.2
Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)	322.1	327.7
Professional, scientific and technical services (M)	1,302.6	1,269.1
Administrative and support services (N)	1,066.2	1,087.6
Public administration and safety (O)	859.1	879.7
Education and training (P)	1,279.3	1,297.7
Health care and social assistance (Q)	2,429.4	2,516.6
Arts and recreation services (R)	303.5	311.8
Other services (S)	584.7	583.3

Total jobs, by industry, seasonally adjusted

["","Dec-2023","Mar-2024"]

[["Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)","Mining (B)","Manufacturing (C)","Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)","Construction (E)","Wholesale trade (F)","Retail trade (G)","Accommodation and food services (H)","Transport, postal and warehousing (I)","Information media and telecommunications (J)","Financial and insurance services (K)","Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)","Professional, scientific and technical services (M)","Administrative and support services (N)","Public administration and safety (O) ","Education and training (P)","Health care and social assistance (Q)","Arts and recreation services (R)","Other services (S)"],[[472.60000000000002],[231.40000000000001],[922.70000000000005],[145],[1254.4000000000001],[633.5],[1485.5],[1136],[757.70000000000005],[211.5],[525.70000000000005],[322.10000000000002],[1302.5999999999999],[1066.2],[859.10000000000002],[1279.3],[2429.4000000000001],[303.5],[584.70000000000005]],[[480.10000000000002],[234.5],[923.20000000000005],[141],[1261],[630.29999999999995],[1490.8],[1115.0999999999999],[734.79999999999995],[216.09999999999999],[530.20000000000005],[327.69999999999999],[1269.0999999999999],[1087.5999999999999],[879.70000000000005],[1297.7],[2516.5999999999999],[311.80000000000001],[583.29999999999995]]]

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Filled jobs

In seasonally adjusted terms, in the March quarter 2024, the number of filled jobs increased by 123,800 to 15.7 million.

Filled jobs, seasonally adjusted and trend (a)
Quarter	Trend ('000)	Seasonally adjusted ('000)	Quarterly change (seasonally adjusted) (%)
Mar-19	13,860.5	13,862.6	0.3
Jun-19	13,926.1	13,904.9	0.3
Sep-19	14,010.1	14,038.2	1.0
Dec-19	14,055.5	14,062.7	0.2
Mar-20	14,055.6	14,024.5	-0.3
Jun-20		13,185.1	-6.0
Sep-20		13,560.0	2.8
Dec-20		13,905.4	2.5
Mar-21		14,049.3	1.0
Jun-21		14,192.6	1.0
Sep-21		13,892.5	-2.1
Dec-21		14,457.7	4.1
Mar-22		14,585.4	0.9
Jun-22		14,848.9	1.8
Sep-22	14,991.8	14,966.2	0.8
Dec-22	15,121.6	15,133.0	1.1
Mar-23	15,233.7	15,298.2	1.1
Jun-23	15,358.6	15,368.8	0.5
Sep-23	15,500.8	15,483.9	0.7
Dec-23	15,526.9	15,541.1	0.4
Mar-24	15,654.3	15,664.9	0.8

Filled jobs, seasonally adjusted and trend (a)

["Quarter","Trend","Seasonally adjusted","Quarterly change (seasonally adjusted)"]

[["Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24"],[[13860.5],[13926.1],[14010.1],[14055.5],[14055.6],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[14991.799999999999],[15121.6],[15233.700000000001],[15358.6],[15500.799999999999],[15526.9],[15654.299999999999]],[[13862.6],[13904.9],[14038.200000000001],[14062.700000000001],[14024.5],[13185.1],[13560],[13905.4],[14049.299999999999],[14192.6],[13892.5],[14457.700000000001],[14585.4],[14848.9],[14966.200000000001],[15133],[15298.200000000001],[15368.799999999999],[15483.9],[15541.1],[15664.9]],[[0.29999999999999999],[0.29999999999999999],[1],[0.20000000000000001],[-0.29999999999999999],[-6],[2.7999999999999998],[2.5],[1],[1],[-2.1000000000000001],[4.0999999999999996],[0.90000000000000002],[1.8],[0.80000000000000004],[1.1000000000000001],[1.1000000000000001],[0.5],[0.69999999999999996],[0.40000000000000002],[0.80000000000000004]]]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"-8","axis_max":"8","tick_interval":"2","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false},{"value":"1","axis_id":"1","axis_title":"'000","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"('000)","table_units":"('000)","axis_min":"12000","axis_max":"16000","tick_interval":"500","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Larger than usual quarter-to-quarter changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period.

Filled jobs, by industry, March quarter 2024, seasonally adjusted
	Filled jobs ('000)	Quarterly change (%)	Annual change (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)	477.3	1.6	1.8
Mining (B)	223.7	1.8	9.1
Manufacturing (C)	900.2	0.1	1.4
Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)	136.3	-2.7	1.6
Construction (E)	1,233.5	0.8	3.0
Wholesale trade (F)	615.0	-0.6	-3.3
Retail trade (G)	1,455.7	0.2	-2.2
Accommodation and food services (H)	1,082.4	-1.6	-10.5
Transport, postal and warehousing (I)	724.8	-2.9	0.2
Information media and telecommunications (J)	212.4	2.1	3.3
Financial and insurance services (K)	518.4	0.6	0.7
Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)	321.9	1.4	2.8
Professional, scientific and technical services (M)	1,235.6	-2.0	4.5
Administrative and support services (N)	1,057.7	2.1	4.2
Public administration and safety (O)	859.9	2.8	4.8
Education and training (P)	1,282.3	1.4	6.0
Health care and social assistance (Q)	2,450.3	3.7	8.5
Arts and recreation services (R)	306.4	3.0	16.4
Other services (S)	571.0	0.0	1.3
Total all industries	15,664.9	0.8	2.4

Main and secondary jobs

In seasonally adjusted terms, in the March quarter 2024:

main jobs increased by 109,100 (0.8%)
secondary jobs increased by 14,700 (1.3%)
the proportion of secondary jobs to filled jobs increased to 7.1%.

The three industries with the highest number of secondary jobs were Health care and social assistance, Administrative and support services, and Education and training.

Main and secondary jobs, by industry, seasonally adjusted
	Main jobs ('000)	Secondary jobs ('000)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)	449.6	27.7
Mining (B)	217.9	5.9
Manufacturing (C)	872.3	27.9
Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)	133.8	2.6
Construction (E)	1,186.9	46.6
Wholesale trade (F)	592.5	22.4
Retail trade (G)	1,355.3	100.4
Accommodation and food services (H)	978.0	104.3
Transport, postal and warehousing (I)	701.9	23.0
Information media and telecommunications (J)	199.5	12.9
Financial and insurance services (K)	476.4	42.0
Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)	305.8	16.1
Professional, scientific and technical services (M)	1,166.9	68.7
Administrative and support services (N)	908.9	148.8
Public administration and safety (O)	806.0	53.9
Education and training (P)	1,142.9	139.4
Health care and social assistance (Q)	2,264.8	185.5
Arts and recreation services (R)	267.0	39.4
Other services (S)	532.4	38.6

Main and secondary jobs, by industry, seasonally adjusted

["","Main jobs","Secondary jobs"]

[["Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)","Mining (B)","Manufacturing (C)","Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)","Construction (E)","Wholesale trade (F)","Retail trade (G)","Accommodation and food services (H)","Transport, postal and warehousing (I)","Information media and telecommunications (J)","Financial and insurance services (K)","Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)","Professional, scientific and technical services (M)","Administrative and support services (N)","Public administration and safety (O) ","Education and training (P)","Health care and social assistance (Q)","Arts and recreation services (R)","Other services (S)"],[[449.60000000000002],[217.90000000000001],[872.29999999999995],[133.80000000000001],[1186.9000000000001],[592.5],[1355.3],[978],[701.89999999999998],[199.5],[476.39999999999998],[305.80000000000001],[1166.9000000000001],[908.89999999999998],[806],[1142.9000000000001],[2264.8000000000002],[267],[532.39999999999998]],[[27.699999999999999],[5.9000000000000004],[27.899999999999999],[2.6000000000000001],[46.600000000000001],[22.399999999999999],[100.40000000000001],[104.3],[23],[12.9],[42],[16.100000000000001],[68.700000000000003],[148.80000000000001],[53.899999999999999],[139.40000000000001],[185.5],[39.399999999999999],[38.600000000000001]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"'000","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"('000)","table_units":"('000)","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"2500","tick_interval":"500","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Secondary jobs can be held by people who have their main job in the same or a different industry.

Statistical discrepancy - Filled jobs

The Labour Account compiles independent estimates of the number of filled jobs from both a household and business perspective. The difference between these two estimates is referred to as the "statistical discrepancy". The household estimates of filled jobs are considered the best measure of labour market activity total economy level, while business sources are considered more reliable estimating the distribution of jobs across industries. As a result, the Labour Account filled jobs estimates are constrained (equivalent) to the household side.

The discrepancy between the two sources is reduced to zero through the balancing processes of the Labour Account, producing a single harmonised or "balanced" number of filled jobs. The balanced estimate of filled jobs incorporates the advantage of the industry distribution derived from business side data, whilst constraining to a total economy estimate sourced from household side data. In original terms the discrepancy between household sources and business sources was 53,500 jobs in the March quarter 2024, or 0.3% of the household estimate.

While the business sources have been showing stronger jobs growth over the COVID period, this hasn't impacted on overall Labour Accounts aggregates given the Labour Account jobs estimates are constrained to the household side.

Filled jobs discrepancy, original
Quarter	Discrepancy (business sources less household sources) ('000)	Filled jobs (business sources) ('000)	Filled jobs (household sources) ('000)
Mar-21	442.3	14,488.8	14,046.5
Jun-21	313.5	14,498.7	14,185.2
Sep-21	685.8	14,494.6	13,808.8
Dec-21	-7.0	14,545.7	14,552.7
Mar-22	34.3	14,612.9	14,578.5
Jun-22	156.3	15,004.4	14,848.1
Sep-22	392.7	15,272.9	14,880.2
Dec-22	204.0	15,430.9	15,226.9
Mar-23	85.9	15,373.7	15,287.8
Jun-23	242.7	15,619.4	15,376.6
Sep-23	429.6	15,827.3	15,397.7
Dec-23	319.8	15,949.9	15,630.1
Mar-24	53.5	15,705.6	15,652.1

Filled jobs discrepancy, original

["Quarter","Discrepancy (business sources less household sources)","Filled jobs (business sources)","Filled jobs (household sources)"]

[["Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24"],[[442.30000000000001],[313.5],[685.79999999999995],[-7],[34.299999999999997],[156.30000000000001],[392.69999999999999],[204],[85.900000000000006],[242.69999999999999],[429.60000000000002],[319.80000000000001],[53.5]],[[14488.799999999999],[14498.700000000001],[14494.6],[14545.700000000001],[14612.9],[15004.4],[15272.9],[15430.9],[15373.700000000001],[15619.4],[15827.299999999999],[15949.9],[15705.6]],[[14046.5],[14185.200000000001],[13808.799999999999],[14552.700000000001],[14578.5],[14848.1],[14880.200000000001],[15226.9],[15287.799999999999],[15376.6],[15397.700000000001],[15630.1],[15652.1]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"'000","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"('000)","table_units":"('000)","axis_min":"-2000","axis_max":"18000","tick_interval":"2000","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Balancing decisions for Rental, hiring and real estate services and Other services were mostly based on household survey sources. All other industries were mostly based on business survey sources.

People

In seasonally adjusted terms, in the March quarter 2024:

the total number of employed people increased by 0.7% to 14.6 million
the number of multiple job-holders increased by 1.2%
unemployed people decreased by 11,000 people to 571,200.

Employed people and multiple job-holders, seasonally adjusted and trend (a)
Quarter	Employed people (trend) ('000)	Employed people (seasonally adjusted) ('000)	Multiple job holders (seasonally adjusted) (Quarterly change %)
Mar-19	13,019.8	13,029.1	-1.5
Jun-19	13,090.1	13,074.3	-2.5
Sep-19	13,154.8	13,174.1	2.8
Dec-19	13,217.8	13,209.7	1.0
Mar-20	13,286.7	13,161.7	1.2
Jun-20		12,482.9	-18.5
Sep-20		12,728.8	12.5
Dec-20		13,049.3	9.3
Mar-21		13,171.7	1.3
Jun-21		13,283.4	2.9
Sep-21		13,006.0	-7.3
Dec-21		13,526.4	12.5
Mar-22		13,639.8	0.3
Jun-22		13,851.9	4.7
Sep-22	13,969.3	13,938.1	-0.8
Dec-22	14,111.9	14,121.6	4.8
Mar-23	14,228.8	14,243.7	1.6
Jun-23	14,318.2	14,312.8	1.2
Sep-23	14,387.9	14,383.8	-0.7
Dec-23	14,466.6	14,459.4	1.2
Mar-24	14,550.7	14,561.1	1.2

Employed people and multiple job-holders, seasonally adjusted and trend (a)

["Quarter","Employed people (trend)","Employed people (seasonally adjusted)","Multiple job holders (seasonally adjusted)"]

[["Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24"],[[13019.799999999999],[13090.1],[13154.799999999999],[13217.799999999999],[13286.700000000001],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[13969.299999999999],[14111.9],[14228.799999999999],[14318.200000000001],[14387.9],[14466.6],[14550.700000000001]],[[13029.1],[13074.299999999999],[13174.1],[13209.700000000001],[13161.700000000001],[12482.9],[12728.799999999999],[13049.299999999999],[13171.700000000001],[13283.4],[13006],[13526.4],[13639.799999999999],[13851.9],[13938.1],[14121.6],[14243.700000000001],[14312.799999999999],[14383.799999999999],[14459.4],[14561.1]],[[-1.5],[-2.5],[2.7999999999999998],[1],[1.2],[-18.5],[12.5],[9.3000000000000007],[1.3],[2.8999999999999999],[-7.2999999999999998],[12.5],[0.29999999999999999],[4.7000000000000002],[-0.80000000000000004],[4.7999999999999998],[1.6000000000000001],[1.2],[-0.69999999999999996],[1.2],[1.2]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"4","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Quarterly change %","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(Quarterly change %)","table_units":"(Quarterly change %)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false},{"value":"1","axis_id":"1","axis_title":"'000","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"('000)","table_units":"('000)","axis_min":"11500","axis_max":"15000","tick_interval":"500","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Larger than usual quarter-to-quarter changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period.

The three industries with the highest number of employed people in the March quarter 2024 were Health care and social assistance, Retail trade, and Education and training.

Employed people, by industry, seasonally adjusted
	Dec-2023 ('000)	Mar-2024 ('000)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)	457.4	464.9
Mining (B)	218.6	222.7
Manufacturing (C)	896.2	896.9
Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)	139.9	136.0
Construction (E)	1,212.9	1,221.9
Wholesale trade (F)	614.4	611.2
Retail trade (G)	1,430.6	1,432.8
Accommodation and food services (H)	1,067.2	1,055.0
Transport, postal and warehousing (I)	742.5	722.6
Information media and telecommunications (J)	205.6	209.0
Financial and insurance services (K)	513.3	515.0
Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)	315.0	318.8
Professional, scientific and technical services (M)	1,234.9	1,222.7
Administrative and support services (N)	1,017.4	1,044.0
Public administration and safety (O)	830.5	851.9
Education and training (P)	1,233.3	1,250.7
Health care and social assistance (Q)	2,293.8	2,375.5
Arts and recreation services (R)	289.7	300.2
Other services (S)	564.8	565.0

Employed people, by industry, seasonally adjusted

["","Dec-2023","Mar-2024"]

[["Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)","Mining (B)","Manufacturing (C)","Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)","Construction (E)","Wholesale trade (F)","Retail trade (G)","Accommodation and food services (H)","Transport, postal and warehousing (I)","Information media and telecommunications (J)","Financial and insurance services (K)","Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)","Professional, scientific and technical services (M)","Administrative and support services (N)","Public administration and safety (O) ","Education and training (P)","Health care and social assistance (Q)","Arts and recreation services (R)","Other services (S)"],[[457.39999999999998],[218.59999999999999],[896.20000000000005],[139.90000000000001],[1212.9000000000001],[614.39999999999998],[1430.5999999999999],[1067.2],[742.5],[205.59999999999999],[513.29999999999995],[315],[1234.9000000000001],[1017.4],[830.5],[1233.3],[2293.8000000000002],[289.69999999999999],[564.79999999999995]],[[464.89999999999998],[222.69999999999999],[896.89999999999998],[136],[1221.9000000000001],[611.20000000000005],[1432.8],[1055],[722.60000000000002],[209],[515],[318.80000000000001],[1222.7],[1044],[851.89999999999998],[1250.7],[2375.5],[300.19999999999999],[565]]]

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Hours

In seasonally adjusted terms, in the March quarter 2024, the total number of hours actually worked increased by 6.6 million hours (0.1%) to 5.8 billion hours.

Hours actually worked, seasonally adjusted and trend (a)
Quarter	Trend (million)	Seasonally adjusted (million)	Quarterly change (seasonally adjusted) (%)
Mar-19	5,326.8	5,352.4	1.4
Jun-19	5,346.0	5,328.3	-0.5
Sep-19	5,343.1	5,353.2	0.5
Dec-19	5,320.4	5,356.0	0.1
Mar-20	5,290.9	5,289.8	-1.2
Jun-20		4,857.4	-8.2
Sep-20		5,067.4	4.3
Dec-20		5,210.8	2.8
Mar-21		5,268.2	1.1
Jun-21		5,353.4	1.6
Sep-21		5,209.3	-2.7
Dec-21		5,351.1	2.7
Mar-22		5,352.2	0.0
Jun-22		5,540.9	3.5
Sep-22	5,606.6	5,616.7	1.4
Dec-22	5,734.9	5,729.8	2.0
Mar-23	5,808.8	5,785.7	1.0
Jun-23	5,848.9	5,906.1	2.1
Sep-23	5,871.9	5,853.5	-0.9
Dec-23	5,845.5	5,841.5	-0.2
Mar-24	5,852.4	5,848.1	0.1

Hours actually worked, seasonally adjusted and trend (a)

["Quarter","Trend","Seasonally adjusted","Quarterly change (seasonally adjusted)"]

[["Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22","Sep-22","Dec-22","Mar-23","Jun-23","Sep-23","Dec-23","Mar-24"],[[5326.8000000000002],[5346],[5343.1000000000004],[5320.3999999999996],[5290.8999999999996],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[5606.6000000000004],[5734.8999999999996],[5808.8000000000002],[5848.8999999999996],[5871.8999999999996],[5845.5],[5852.3999999999996]],[[5352.3999999999996],[5328.3000000000002],[5353.1999999999998],[5356],[5289.8000000000002],[4857.3999999999996],[5067.3999999999996],[5210.8000000000002],[5268.1999999999998],[5353.3999999999996],[5209.3000000000002],[5351.1000000000004],[5352.1999999999998],[5540.8999999999996],[5616.6999999999998],[5729.8000000000002],[5785.6999999999998],[5906.1000000000004],[5853.5],[5841.5],[5848.1000000000004]],[[1.3999999999999999],[-0.5],[0.5],[0.10000000000000001],[-1.2],[-8.1999999999999993],[4.2999999999999998],[2.7999999999999998],[1.1000000000000001],[1.6000000000000001],[-2.7000000000000002],[2.7000000000000002],[0],[3.5],[1.3999999999999999],[2],[1],[2.1000000000000001],[-0.90000000000000002],[-0.20000000000000001],[0.10000000000000001]]]

[]

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Larger than usual quarter-to-quarter changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period.

The three industries with the highest number of hours actually worked in the March quarter 2024 were Health care and social assistance, Construction, and Professional, scientific and technical services.

Hours actually worked, by industry, seasonally adjusted
	Dec-2023 (million)	Mar-2024 (million)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)	215.1	217.6
Mining (B)	115.5	115.0
Manufacturing (C)	385.3	382.8
Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)	61.7	62.7
Construction (E)	544.6	534.6
Wholesale trade (F)	265.3	255.8
Retail trade (G)	466.5	463.5
Accommodation and food services (H)	297.6	293.4
Transport, postal and warehousing (I)	317.8	303.1
Information media and telecommunications (J)	83.3	87.2
Financial and insurance services (K)	217.6	214.3
Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)	137.1	138.2
Professional, scientific and technical services (M)	517.8	525.5
Administrative and support services (N)	321.9	319.9
Public administration and safety (O)	342.6	350.8
Education and training (P)	432.6	441.4
Health care and social assistance (Q)	804.9	825.6
Arts and recreation services (R)	92.5	93.7
Other services (S)	221.9	223.0

Hours actually worked, by industry, seasonally adjusted

["","Dec-2023","Mar-2024"]

[["Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)","Mining (B)","Manufacturing (C)","Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)","Construction (E)","Wholesale trade (F)","Retail trade (G)","Accommodation and food services (H)","Transport, postal and warehousing (I)","Information media and telecommunications (J)","Financial and insurance services (K)","Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)","Professional, scientific and technical services (M)","Administrative and support services (N)","Public administration and safety (O) ","Education and training (P)","Health care and social assistance (Q)","Arts and recreation services (R)","Other services (S)"],[[215.09999999999999],[115.5],[385.30000000000001],[61.700000000000003],[544.60000000000002],[265.30000000000001],[466.5],[297.60000000000002],[317.80000000000001],[83.299999999999997],[217.59999999999999],[137.09999999999999],[517.79999999999995],[321.89999999999998],[342.60000000000002],[432.60000000000002],[804.89999999999998],[92.5],[221.90000000000001]],[[217.59999999999999],[115],[382.80000000000001],[62.700000000000003],[534.60000000000002],[255.80000000000001],[463.5],[293.39999999999998],[303.10000000000002],[87.200000000000003],[214.30000000000001],[138.19999999999999],[525.5],[319.89999999999998],[350.80000000000001],[441.39999999999998],[825.60000000000002],[93.700000000000003],[223]]]

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Quarterly hours worked per job, by industry, seasonally adjusted
	Dec-2023 (hours)	Mar-2024 (hours)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)	457.9	456.0
Mining (B)	525.3	514.0
Manufacturing (C)	428.4	425.3
Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)	440.1	460.0
Construction (E)	444.9	433.4
Wholesale trade (F)	428.8	415.9
Retail trade (G)	321.1	318.4
Accommodation and food services (H)	270.7	271.1
Transport, postal and warehousing (I)	425.8	418.2
Information media and telecommunications (J)	400.1	410.3
Financial and insurance services (K)	422.4	413.3
Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)	431.7	429.3
Professional, scientific and technical services (M)	410.5	425.3
Administrative and support services (N)	310.9	302.5
Public administration and safety (O)	409.4	407.9
Education and training (P)	342.2	344.2
Health care and social assistance (Q)	340.6	336.9
Arts and recreation services (R)	310.9	305.9
Other services (S)	388.5	390.6

Quarterly hours worked per job, by industry, seasonally adjusted

["","Dec-2023","Mar-2024"]

[["Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)","Mining (B)","Manufacturing (C)","Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)","Construction (E)","Wholesale trade (F)","Retail trade (G)","Accommodation and food services (H)","Transport, postal and warehousing (I)","Information media and telecommunications (J)","Financial and insurance services (K)","Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)","Professional, scientific and technical services (M)","Administrative and support services (N)","Public administration and safety (O) ","Education and training (P)","Health care and social assistance (Q)","Arts and recreation services (R)","Other services (S)"],[[457.89999999999998],[525.29999999999995],[428.39999999999998],[440.10000000000002],[444.89999999999998],[428.80000000000001],[321.10000000000002],[270.69999999999999],[425.80000000000001],[400.10000000000002],[422.39999999999998],[431.69999999999999],[410.5],[310.89999999999998],[409.39999999999998],[342.19999999999999],[340.60000000000002],[310.89999999999998],[388.5]],[[456],[514],[425.30000000000001],[460],[433.39999999999998],[415.89999999999998],[318.39999999999998],[271.10000000000002],[418.19999999999999],[410.30000000000001],[413.30000000000001],[429.30000000000001],[425.30000000000001],[302.5],[407.89999999999998],[344.19999999999999],[336.89999999999998],[305.89999999999998],[390.60000000000002]]]

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Payments

The Labour Account Payments quadrant presents the costs incurred by enterprises in employing labour, and the income received by people from its provision. Total income consists of compensation of employees and labour income from self-employment. The addition of other related costs to employers to total income will derive total labour costs.

In seasonally adjusted terms, in the March quarter 2024:

total labour income increased by $4,436 million (1.3%) to $347,322 million
the average labour income per employed person increased by 0.6% to $23,853
total compensation of employees increased by 1.1% to $319,080 million
labour income from self-employment increased by 3.2% to $28,242 million
total labour costs increased by $4,683 million (1.3%) to $369,173 million.

The three industries with the highest total labour income in the March quarter 2024 were Health care and social assistance, Professional, scientific and technical services, and Construction.

Total labour income, by industry, seasonally adjusted
	Dec-2023 ($billion)	Mar-2024 ($billion)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)	8.8	9.4
Mining (B)	10.8	10.9
Manufacturing (C)	21.4	21.6
Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)	4.7	4.8
Construction (E)	31.9	32.0
Wholesale trade (F)	14.6	14.6
Retail trade (G)	18.4	18.4
Accommodation and food services (H)	11.2	11.2
Transport, postal and warehousing (I)	17.1	17.5
Information media and telecommunications (J)	7.3	7.3
Financial and insurance services (K)	15.1	15.6
Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)	6.6	6.7
Professional, scientific and technical services (M)	39.5	40.1
Administrative and support services (N)	19.8	19.9
Public administration and safety (O)	26.8	27.3
Education and training (P)	27.8	28.3
Health care and social assistance (Q)	48.2	48.8
Arts and recreation services (R)	3.7	3.7
Other services (S)	9.3	9.3

Total labour income, by industry, seasonally adjusted

["","Dec-2023","Mar-2024"]

[["Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)","Mining (B)","Manufacturing (C)","Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)","Construction (E)","Wholesale trade (F)","Retail trade (G)","Accommodation and food services (H)","Transport, postal and warehousing (I)","Information media and telecommunications (J)","Financial and insurance services (K)","Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)","Professional, scientific and technical services (M)","Administrative and support services (N)","Public administration and safety (O) ","Education and training (P)","Health care and social assistance (Q)","Arts and recreation services (R)","Other services (S)"],[[8.8000000000000007],[10.800000000000001],[21.399999999999999],[4.7000000000000002],[31.899999999999999],[14.6],[18.399999999999999],[11.199999999999999],[17.100000000000001],[7.2999999999999998],[15.1],[6.5999999999999996],[39.5],[19.800000000000001],[26.800000000000001],[27.800000000000001],[48.200000000000003],[3.7000000000000002],[9.3000000000000007]],[[9.4000000000000004],[10.9],[21.600000000000001],[4.7999999999999998],[32],[14.6],[18.399999999999999],[11.199999999999999],[17.5],[7.2999999999999998],[15.6],[6.7000000000000002],[40.100000000000001],[19.899999999999999],[27.300000000000001],[28.300000000000001],[48.799999999999997],[3.7000000000000002],[9.3000000000000007]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"Billion dollars","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(billion)","table_units":"($billion)","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"50","tick_interval":"5","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"$","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Average income per employed person, by industry, seasonally adjusted
	Dec-2023 ($'000)	Mar-2024 ($'000)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)	19.3	20.3
Mining (B)	49.2	49.0
Manufacturing (C)	23.9	24.1
Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)	33.6	35.2
Construction (E)	26.3	26.2
Wholesale trade (F)	23.8	23.9
Retail trade (G)	12.8	12.8
Accommodation and food services (H)	10.5	10.7
Transport, postal and warehousing (I)	23.0	24.2
Information media and telecommunications (J)	35.3	34.7
Financial and insurance services (K)	29.5	30.3
Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)	20.9	20.9
Professional, scientific and technical services (M)	32.0	32.8
Administrative and support services (N)	19.4	19.0
Public administration and safety (O)	32.2	32.0
Education and training (P)	22.5	22.6
Health care and social assistance (Q)	21.0	20.6
Arts and recreation services (R)	12.8	12.3
Other services (S)	16.4	16.4

Average income per employed person, by industry, seasonally adjusted

["","Dec-2023","Mar-2024"]

[["Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)","Mining (B)","Manufacturing (C)","Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D)","Construction (E)","Wholesale trade (F)","Retail trade (G)","Accommodation and food services (H)","Transport, postal and warehousing (I)","Information media and telecommunications (J)","Financial and insurance services (K)","Rental, hiring and real estate services (L)","Professional, scientific and technical services (M)","Administrative and support services (N)","Public administration and safety (O) ","Education and training (P)","Health care and social assistance (Q)","Arts and recreation services (R)","Other services (S)"],[[19.300000000000001],[49.200000000000003],[23.899999999999999],[33.600000000000001],[26.300000000000001],[23.800000000000001],[12.800000000000001],[10.5],[23],[35.299999999999997],[29.5],[20.899999999999999],[32],[19.399999999999999],[32.200000000000003],[22.5],[21],[12.800000000000001],[16.399999999999999]],[[20.300000000000001],[49],[24.100000000000001],[35.200000000000003],[26.199999999999999],[23.899999999999999],[12.800000000000001],[10.699999999999999],[24.199999999999999],[34.700000000000003],[30.300000000000001],[20.899999999999999],[32.799999999999997],[19],[32],[22.600000000000001],[20.600000000000001],[12.300000000000001],[16.399999999999999]]]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"$'000","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"('000)","table_units":"($'000)","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"50","tick_interval":"10","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"$","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Data downloads

Download all (10.94 MB)

Time series spreadsheets

Quarterly estimates for Jobs, People, Hours and Payments by Industry Division and Total All Industries.

Data files

Industry summary table
Download xlsx [475.96 KB]
Table 1. Total all industries - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [460.61 KB]
Table 2. Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [441.75 KB]
Table 3. Mining (B) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [441.22 KB]
Table 4. Manufacturing (C) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [441.07 KB]
Table 5. Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [438.82 KB]
Table 6. Construction (E) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [441.54 KB]
Table 7. Wholesale trade (F) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [441.04 KB]
Table 8. Retail trade (G) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [441.04 KB]
Table 9. Accommodation and food services (H) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [442.4 KB]
Table 10. Transport, postal and warehousing (I) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [441.42 KB]
Table 11. Information media and telecommunications (J) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [441.8 KB]
Table 12. Financial and insurance services (K) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [439.92 KB]
Table 13. Rental, hiring and real estate services (L) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [441.06 KB]
Table 14. Professional, scientific and technical services (M) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [441.95 KB]
Table 15. Administrative and support services (N) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [442.13 KB]
Table 16. Public administration and safety (O) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [440.69 KB]
Table 17. Education and training (P) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [442.71 KB]
Table 18. Health care and social assistance (Q) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [441.18 KB]
Table 19. Arts and recreation services (R) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [441.71 KB]
Table 20. Other services (S) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original
Download xlsx [441.31 KB]
Table 21. Unbalanced: total all industries - original
Download xlsx [131.36 KB]
Table 22. Quarterly revisions
Download xlsx [2.49 MB]

Subdivison datasets

Industry subdivision estimates are available through Data Explorer.

Data Explorer datasets

Quarterly original estimates for Jobs, People, Hours and Payments by Industry Subdivision, Division and Total All Industries.

Labour Account balanced - Balanced quarterly original estimates for Jobs, People, Hours and Payments by Industry Subdivision, Division and Total All Industries.

For information on Data Explorer and how it works, see the Data explorer user guide.

Seasonal adjustment for leap years

The extra leap year day in 2024 has been accounted for in seasonally adjusted statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for the month of February 2024 and the March quarter 2024. The impact of an additional leap year day is analysed as part of the seasonal adjustment process, which includes the impact of trading days. The impact of the extra leap year day will be evident in the original (non-seasonally adjusted) series. For further information please refer to this note: Accounting for the extra leap year day in ABS seasonally adjusted statistics.

Article archive

Previous feature articles

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6150.0.55.003.

APA

Labour Account Australia

APA

Key statistics

Labour Force statistics estimation improvements

Spotlight on the Labour Account

Guide to labour statistics

Data impacts and changes

Revisions this quarter

Labour Force estimation method changes

Seasonal adjustment and trend estimates

Changes to release page

Jobs

Total jobs

Filled jobs

Main and secondary jobs

Statistical discrepancy - Filled jobs

People

Hours

Payments

Data downloads

Time series spreadsheets

Industry summary table

Table 1. Total all industries - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 2. Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 3. Mining (B) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 4. Manufacturing (C) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 5. Electricity, gas, water and waste services (D) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 6. Construction (E) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 7. Wholesale trade (F) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 8. Retail trade (G) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 9. Accommodation and food services (H) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 10. Transport, postal and warehousing (I) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 11. Information media and telecommunications (J) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 12. Financial and insurance services (K) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 13. Rental, hiring and real estate services (L) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 14. Professional, scientific and technical services (M) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 15. Administrative and support services (N) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 16. Public administration and safety (O) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 17. Education and training (P) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 18. Health care and social assistance (Q) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 19. Arts and recreation services (R) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 20. Other services (S) - trend, seasonally adjusted and original

Table 21. Unbalanced: total all industries - original

Table 22. Quarterly revisions

Subdivison datasets

Data Explorer datasets

Seasonal adjustment for leap years

Article archive

Previous feature articles

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Articles

Spotlight on the Labour Account

Media releases

Labour market growth continued to slow into early 2024

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