Census

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2021 Census: Fewer Australians working 40 hours or more per week

Media Release
Released
12/10/2022

2021 Census data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals insights into how many hours Australians worked in the week before the Census.

Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician said, “The Census data revealed that 38 per cent of Australians worked 40 hours or more, down from 45 per cent a decade ago.

“Of those working 40 hours or more, nearly all (86 per cent) did fewer than 15 hours of domestic work. However, a third (35 per cent) had childcare responsibilities and 11 per cent provided unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, health condition, or due to old age”.

The Northern Territory and Western Australia continued to report the highest proportion of people working 40 plus hours a week, at 44 per cent and 42 per cent. Tasmania reported the lowest proportion at 33 per cent.

The median hours worked by Australians remained unchanged at 38 hours. The Mining industry recorded the highest median at 48 hours and the Accommodation and Food industry the lowest at 20 hours.

The number of hours worked varied by occupation. “Interestingly, School Principals worked as many hours as Surgeons, with each recording a median of 50 hours per week,” Dr Gruen added. 

While there are a lower proportion of people working very long hours, most people still work full-time. In the week before the Census, more than seven million people worked full-time, four million worked part-time and one million were away from work. 

Australians are balancing work with study, domestic duties and caring responsibilities.

Employment type

Part-time

Full-time

Total people

4 million

7 million

Sex

Two in three are female (2.6 million)

Two in three are male (4.3 million)

Study

700,000 are undertaking full-time study, and a further 264,000 undertaking part-time study

115,000 are undertaking full-time study, and a further 384,000 undertaking part-time study

Unpaid childcare, including own children

One in three (1.3 million)

One in three (2.4 million)

Domestic work (such as washing, gardening, shopping for groceries and meal preparation)

10 per cent of part-time employed males undertook 15 or more hours of domestic work, compared to 32 per cent of part-time employed females.

10 per cent of full-time employed males undertook 15 or more hours of domestic work, compared to 21 per cent of full-time employed females.

Providing unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, a long-term health condition or due to old age

530,000 (13 per cent)

 

770,000 (11 per cent)

 

Volunteering

17 per cent

14 per cent

The 2021 Census counted 7,593 Australians who were undertaking paid employment, completing study, providing unpaid childcare, providing unpaid care to another person, completed 15 hours or more of domestic work and also volunteered. 

Table 1: Count of employed persons in 2021

 

Person count 2021

% of 15+ population

Employed, full-time

7,095,103

34.1%

Employed, part-time

3,962,550

19.1%

Employed, away from work

991,758

4.8%

Employed Total

12,049,410

58.0%

Unemployed

646,442

3.1%

Not in the labour force

6,888,081

33.1%

Not Stated

1,200,851

5.8%

Total population (15+)

20,784,787

100%

Table 2: Median hours by industry in 2021

Industry

Median hours worked (weekly)

Mining

48

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

40

Construction

40

Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services

40

Financial and Insurance Services

40

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

40

Wholesale Trade

39

Information Media and Telecommunications

38

Manufacturing

38

Other Services

38

Public Administration and Safety

38

Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services

38

Transport, Postal and Warehousing

38

Education and Training

35

Health Care and Social Assistance

32

Administrative and Support Services

31

Arts and Recreation Services

30

Retail Trade

29

Accommodation and Food Services

20

All Industries

38

Table 3: Occupations with highest median hours in 2021

Occupation

Median hours worked (weekly)

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farmers

50

School Principals

50

Surgeons

50

Drillers, Miners and Shot Firers

50

Chief Executives and Managing Directors

45

Livestock Farmers

45

Table 4: Count of persons working and studying

 

Full-time student

Part-time student

Employed, worked full-time

115,434

384,140

Employed, worked part-time

699,768

263,522

Total

815,203

647,661

Table 5: Hours of unpaid domestic work for employed persons in 2021

 

Employed, worked full-time

Employed, worked part-time

Total

Nil hours

1,521,666

908,725

2,430,391

Less than 5 hours

1,842,974

879,697

2,722,671

5 to 14 hours

2,694,535

1,194,280

3,888,815

15 to 29 hours

760,514

602,844

1,363,361

30 hours or more

245,448

359,415

604,864

Not stated

29,962

17,585

47,551

Total

7,095,103

3,962,550

11,057,653

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Media notes

  • When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
  • For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Media Team via media@abs.gov.au (8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri)
  • Search for 2021 Census data through the QuickStats tool.

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