Jobs in Australia

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Information about the number and nature of filled jobs, the people who hold them and their employers

Reference period
2011-12 to 2017-18
Released
10/12/2020

Key statistics

During 2017-18 there were:

  • 19.6 million job relationships, up 2.1% on 2016-17
  • 13.8 million employed persons, up 1.9% on 2016-17

Jobs in Australia, 2017-18 was initially released in December 2020. This update includes additional information for regions, including state/territory spotlights, downloadable tables for estimates at Statistical Area Levels 2, 3, 4 (SA2s, SA3s, and SA4s) and at Local Government Area (LGA) level.

Summary of findings

 NumberChange in last yearChange since 2011-12
Jobs19,563,6452.1%8.6%
 Held by men10,168,4322.1%7.3%
 Held by women9,394,9962.0%10.1%
Employed persons13,789,8561.9%7.4%
Median employee income per job (duration adjusted)$44,7843.7%15.5%
Total employment income$843 bil5.2%25.3%

* 'Duration adjusted' is an analytical measure of employee income per job that seeks to put all jobs onto a comparable full-year duration basis.
 

OMUEs are Owner-managers of unincorporated enterprises.

Jobs

During 2017-18:

  • There were 19.6 million job relationships
  • 17.5 million (89.6%) jobs were held by employees and 2.0 million (10.4%) jobs were held by owner managers
  • 14.7 million (75.4%) jobs were in the private sector jobs and 3.2 million (16.2%) were in the public sector
     

Employed people

During 2017-18:

  • People aged 25-29 years held the highest number of employee jobs (2.6 million jobs)
  • Males in this age group held a slightly higher proportion of jobs than females (52.1% and 47.9%)
     

Employee income

In 2017-18, after adjusting for job duration, the median employee income per job was:

  • $44,784 for all persons
  • $54,536 for males
  • $36,174 for females
     

Industry

During 2017-18, the industries with the most jobs were:

  • Health care and social assistance (11.1%)
  • Administrative and support services (9.3%)
  • Retail trade (8.8%)

Occupation

During 2017-18, the most common occupations were:

  • Professionals (18.5%)
  • Clerical and Administrative Workers (11.4%)
  • Technicians and Trade Workers (10.2%)
     

Differences in male and female employment in occupations continue to be apparent. Almost all jobs worked by machinery operators and drivers were held by males (89.2%), while most clerical and administrative jobs were held by females (76.4%).

Employers

During 2017-18:

  • 6.0 million (30.8%) jobs were with small businesses (less than 20 employees)
  • 4.1 million (20.8%) jobs were with medium businesses (between 20 and 199 employees)
  • 7.8 million (39.9%) jobs were with large businesses (200 or more employees)
     

Regional comparison

 Highest number of jobsHighest median employee income per job (duration adjusted)Highest total employment income (million)
New South WalesSydney
- Haymarket
- The Rocks
56,761St Leonards
- Naremburn
$76,838Mosman$2,643
Waterloo
- Beaconsfield
35,042North Sydney
- Lavender Bay
$76,349Lane Cove
- Greenwich
$1,984
Parramatta
- Rosehill
32,457Balmain$75,899Double Bay
- Bellevue Hill
$1,927
Newtown
- Camperdown
- Darlington
28,266Crows Nest
- Waverton
$71,986Willoughby
- Castle Cove
- Northbridge
$1,845
VictoriaMelbourne47,569South Yarra
- West
$72,632Richmond$1,853
St Kilda36,479Port Melbourne$68,331Brighton$1,499
Richmond34,426Newport$59,055St Kilda$1,459
Tarneit34,165Richmond$58,498Hawthorn$1,424
QueenslandNorth Lakes
- Mango Hill
27,880Weipa$70,572North Lakes
- Mango Hill
$1,213
Upper Coomera
- Willow Vale
27,460Moranbah$68,223Upper Coomera
- Willow Vale
$1,075
Surfers Paradise25,627Bulimba$63,432Forest Lake
- Doolandella
$965
Forest Lake
- Doolandella
24,038Broadsound
- Nebo
$60,353Jimboomba$946
South AustraliaPlympton20,500Roxby Downs$81,165Unley
- Parkside
$871
Northgate
- Oakden
- Gilles Plains
18,722Largs Bay
- Semaphore
$50,891Glenelg$774
Enfield
- Blair Athol
17,641Whyalla$50,532Burnside
- Wattle Park
$774
Seaford17,240Blackwood$50,450Goodwood
- Millswood
$768
Western AustraliaPerth City41,540Ashburton $82,187Perth City$2,001
Ellenbrook32,719Port Hedland$77,815Ellenbrook$1,458
Baldivis29,969South Hedland$66,470Baldivis$1,412
Rivervale
- Kewdale
- Cloverdale
23,465Kalgoorlie
- North
$64,833Nedlands
- Dalkeith
- Crawley
$1,143
TasmaniaDevonport10,759Geilston Bay
- Risdon
$48,185Sandy Bay$459
Sandy Bay10,699Old Beach
- Otago
$47,700Howrah
- Tranmere
$362
Kingston
- Huntingfield
8,856Howrah
- Tranmere
$47,495Kingston Beach
- Blackmans Bay
$350
Hobart8,688Cambridge$45,989Kingston
- Huntingfield
$344
Northern TerritoryDarwin City12,162Parap$62,676Darwin City$544
Katherine10,252Durack
- Marlow Lagoon
$61,245Humpty Doo$421
Charles10,099Lyons $61,136Katherine$374
Humpty Doo8,562Palmerston
- North
$60,712Rosebery
- Bellamack
$334
Australian Capital TerritoryKambah12,305Barton$83,080Kambah$609
Ngunnawal9,425Kingston $79,215Ngunnawal$444
Harrison7,454Griffith $71,063Kingston $386
Gordon6,761Forde$70,323Harrison$376

Note:

  • Analysis only includes areas with a population of more than 1,000 people
  • Regional areas include the 4 Statistical Area Level 2s (SA2s) with the highest numbers for relevant characteristics

Jobs in New South Wales

Information for New South Wales split by the Greater Sydney region and the Rest of New South Wales (footnote 1).

Number of employed persons and jobs

Jobs by gender

Jobs by age

Type of employment

Median employee income per job

Industry

Occupation

Footnotes

Jobs in Victoria

Information for Victoria split by the Greater Melbourne region and the Rest of Victoria (footnote 1).

Number of employed persons and jobs

Jobs by gender

Jobs by age

Type of employment

Median employee income per job

Industry

Occupation

Footnotes

Jobs in Queensland

Information for Queensland split by the Greater Brisbane region and the Rest of Queensland (footnote 1).

Number of employed persons and jobs

Jobs by gender

Jobs by age

Type of employment

Median employee income per job

Industry

Occupation

Footnotes

Jobs in South Australia

Information for South Australia split by the Greater Adelaide region and the Rest of South Australia (footnote 1).

Number of employed persons and jobs

Jobs by gender

Jobs by age

Type of employment

Median employee income per job

Industry

Occupation

Footnotes

Jobs in Western Australia

Information for Western Australia split by the Greater Perth region and the Rest of Western Australia (footnote 1).

Number of employed persons and jobs

Jobs by gender

Jobs by age

Type of employment

Median employee income per job

Industry

Occupation

Footnotes

Jobs in Tasmania

Information for Tasmania split by the Greater Hobart region and the Rest of Tasmania (footnote 1).

Number of employed persons and jobs

Jobs by gender

Jobs by age

Type of employment

Median employee income per job

Industry

Occupation

Footnotes

Jobs in Northern Territory

Information for Northern Territory split by the Greater Darwin region and the Rest of Northern Territory (footnote 1).

Number of employed persons and jobs

Jobs by gender

Jobs by age

Type of employment

Median employee income per job

Industry

Occupation

Footnotes

Jobs in Australian Capital Territory

Information for the Australian Capital Territory (footnote 1).

Number of employed persons and jobs

Jobs by gender

Jobs by age

Type of employment

Median employee income per job

Industry

Occupation

Footnotes

Data downloads

Table 1. All jobs

Table 2. Employee jobs

Table 3. Employee jobs - Industry

Table 5. Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises

Table 6. Employed persons

Table 7. New South Wales spotlights by local government areas

Table 8. Victoria spotlights by local government areas

Table 9. Queensland spotlights by local government areas

Table 10. South Australia spotlights by local government areas

Table 11. Western Australia spotlights by local government areas

Table 12. Tasmania spotlights by local government areas

Table 13. Northern Territory spotlights by local government areas

Table 14. Australian Capital Territory spotlight

All data cubes

Post-release changes

26 February 2021:

The following tables containing additional information for regions were added:

  • Tables 1.3–1.5 on all jobs for SA4s, SA3s, and SA2s.
  • Tables 2.3–2.5 on employee jobs for SA4s, SA3s, and SA2s.
  • Tables 3.1–3.14 on the industries of employee jobs for SA4s or SA2s.
  • Tables 6.3–6.5 on employed persons for SA4s, SA3s, and SA2s.
  • Tables 7–14 on detailed statistics at the LGA level. 

The following tables were updated based on more reliable address information. Impacts of the changes are small.

  • In Table 1.2, number of jobs and median employment income per job by state and Greater Capital City Statistical Area in 2017-18 were updated.
  • In Table 2.2, number of employee jobs, median employee income per job and median adjusted employee income per job by state and Greater Capital City Statistical Area in 2017-18 were updated.

Please see the Guide to data download tables for detailed contents of the tables. 

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6160.0.

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