South West Group

The workforce

The workforce is presented in two sections to answer the following questions:

What are the characteristics of the workers in each industry sector?
Where do the workers come from?

The workforce data represents characteristics of all people who are employed in the LGA, regardless of where they live. The characteristics of the workforce in an area are indicative of the structure of the local economy and the employment opportunities on offer. It is also indicative of the socio-demographic characteristics of the population in the local area and the broader region (that is, the local and regional skills on offer).

Data are presented for the total LGA workforce and for the workforce constituting each industry sector (Who are our workers?). This reveals the extent to which the workforce characteristics vary between each industry sector, which is indicative of specific industry sector workforce requirements.

Data are also presented for where each industry sector is deriving its workforce (Where do our workers come from?). This data reveals the extent to which each industry sector derives its workforce from outside the local area, that is, the level of self-containment of each industry sector and the overall level of self-containment of the total LGA workforce. This is important as many Local Governments have a policy objective of maximising the level of workforce self-containment.

Key statistics

The key statistics table draws together a number of key indicators for the workforce in each industry sector, benchmarked to the regional or state workforce for that industry sector.

It provides an overview of who works in each industry sector in the local area, and how their characteristics compare to workers in the broader region. Access the detailed tables for further exploration of each characteristic.

Data options:

Select a benchmark area:

Geographic area benchmark:

Industry sector benchmark:

Select an ANZSIC industry classification:

1993 - Time series
2006 - Latest classification

Select an industry sector:

The workforce (all industries)

Includes the sum of all industry categories.

Industries are classified according to an industry coding system. The 1993 Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) is not the lastest standard but provides a comparable classification for time-series data. This standard was used to code industry data for the 1996, 2001 and 2006 censuses, (2006 industry data was coded to both the 1993 and the 2006 standards).

For more information please refer to the 2006 Census Dictionary, and ANZSIC classification.

Key statistics of the workforce (all industries) (ANZSIC 1993 - Time series industry classification)

Key statistics of the All industries workforce, South West Group 2006 and 2001	2006			2001			Change
	number	%	Perth SD %	number	%	Perth SD %	2001 to 2006
Persons
Persons	106,396	100.0	100.0	91,072	100.0	100.0	15,324
Gender
Males	56,736	53.3	52.0	48,995	53.8	52.4	7,741
Females	49,660	46.7	48.0	42,077	46.2	47.6	7,583
Age structure
15-24 years	20,187	19.0	18.2	17,151	18.8	18.1	3,036
25-54 years	70,640	66.4	66.6	63,776	70.0	70.7	6,864
55-64 years	13,462	12.7	13.1	8,778	9.6	9.8	4,684
65 years and over	2,107	2.0	2.0	1,367	1.5	1.4	740
Median age		40.2 years	40.0 years		38.2 years	38.2 years	1.9 years
Top 3 Industries
Retail Trade	18,271	17.2	15.2	16,747	18.4	16.3	1,524
Manufacturing	16,889	15.9	10.9	14,181	15.6	11.3	2,708
Health and Community Services	12,723	12.0	11.6	10,320	11.3	10.9	2,403
Top 3 Occupations
Professionals	19,269	18.1	21.2	15,577	17.1	19.8	3,692
Intermediate Clerical, Sales and Service Workers	18,092	17.0	18.4	15,096	16.6	18.3	2,996
Tradespersons and Related Workers	15,360	14.4	13.6	13,041	14.3	13.4	2,319
Method of travel to work
Car driver & /or passenger	78,122	73.4	69.2	65,679	72.0	69.3	12,443
Public Transport	3,139	3.0	8.9	2,770	3.0	8.0	369
Employment status (hours worked)
Full time	65,580	61.6	64.2	55,284	60.6	63.7	10,296
Part time	38,829	36.5	34.1	34,331	37.6	34.6	4,498
Qualifications
Bachelor or Higher degree	20,464	19.2	23.7	14,941	16.4	20.0	5,523
Advanced Diploma or Diploma	10,126	9.5	10.1	7,435	8.2	8.7	2,691
Certificate level	24,875	23.4	20.1	20,364	22.3	19.7	4,511
No qualification	45,206	42.5	41.0	43,207	47.4	46.2	1,999

NOTE: Table totals may not equate with other similar tables due to randomisation of small numbers.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2001 and 2006.

Please refer to the specific data notes for more information.

DISCLAIMER: Whilst all due care has been taken to ensure the content of this website is accurate and current, there may be errors or omissions in it and no legal responsibility is accepted for the information and opinions in this report. In addition, as the website is based on historic information which is subject to revision, we do not guarantee its currency.

Copyright in ABS data vests in the Commonwealth of Australia. Distribution of this data is not permitted without the written consent of the Australian Statistician. Please contact intermediary.management@abs.gov.au if you have any queries or wish to distribute any ABS data.

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