Greater Brisbane

Resident workers - Occupations of employment

There are more resident workers (All industries) Professionals in the Greater Brisbane than any other occupation.

Occupations are a key component in evaluating the knowledge, experience and skill-levels that industry can draw upon locally. It should be viewed with other indicators, such as Age structure, Qualifications, and Income for a comprehensive analysis of the Greater Brisbane's local resident workers.

When comparing the occupations of local resident workers with local workers, Occupation data indicates whether an economy draws on the skills offered by its own residents or relies on a different set of skills imported from elsewhere in the region.

Data source

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2016 and 2021 – by usual residence

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Resident workers occupations
Greater Brisbane 20212016Change
Occupations (Click rows to view sub-categories)Number%. QueenslandNumber%. Queensland2016 - 2021
Managers156,64212.612.5127,21611.812.1+29,426
Professionals307,24624.721.4246,29622.919.8+60,950
Technicians and Trades Workers153,06812.313.7139,05412.914.3+14,014
Community and Personal Service Workers144,69711.612.3116,60910.911.3+28,088
Clerical and Administrative Workers168,35113.512.7158,54614.813.6+9,805
Sales Workers102,2848.28.799,9749.39.7+2,310
Machinery Operators And Drivers78,7646.36.867,2456.36.9+11,519
Labourers111,3008.910.1101,4119.410.5+9,889
Inadequately described or not stated22,4221.81.917,4261.61.6+4,996
Total Persons1,244,774100.0100.01,073,777100.0100.0+170,997

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions)

Did you know? By clicking/tapping on a category in the chart below you will be able to drilldown to the sub categories.
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Dominant groups

An analysis of the jobs held by the resident workers in the Greater Brisbane in 2021shows the three most popular occupations were:

  • Professionals (307,246 people or 24.7%)
  • Clerical and Administrative Workers (168,351 people or 13.5%)
  • Managers (156,642 people or 12.6%)

In combination these three occupations accounted for 632,239 people in total or 50.8% of the resident workers (All industries).

In comparison, Queensland employed 21.4% in Professionals; 12.7% in Clerical and Administrative Workers and 12.5% in Managers.

The major differences between the jobs held by the resident workers (All industries) of the Greater Brisbane and Queensland were:

  • A larger percentage of resident workers (All industries) employed as Professionals (24.7% compared to 21.4%)
  • A smaller percentage of resident workers (All industries) employed as Technicians and Trades Workers (12.3% compared to 13.7%)
  • A smaller percentage of resident workers (All industries) employed as Labourers (8.9% compared to 10.1%)
  • A larger percentage of resident workers (All industries) employed as Clerical and Administrative Workers (13.5% compared to 12.7%)

Emerging groups

The number of resident workers (All industries) in the Greater Brisbane increased by 170,997 between 2016 and 2021.

The largest change in the occupations of the resident workers between 2016 and 2021 in the Greater Brisbane were those employed as:

  • Professionals (+60,950 persons)
  • Managers (+29,426 persons)
  • Community and Personal Service Workers (+28,088 persons)
  • Technicians and Trades Workers (+14,014 persons)

City of Brisbane

economic profile