Cairns

Resident workers - Occupations of employment

There are more resident workers (All industries) Professionals in Cairns 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 Cairns'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
Cairns 20212016Change
Occupations (Click rows to view sub-categories)Number%. QueenslandNumber%. Queensland2016 - 2021
Managers8,81411.112.57,92910.912.1+885
Professionals16,23520.421.413,93619.219.8+2,299
Technicians and Trades Workers11,93115.013.710,82615.014.3+1,105
Community and Personal Service Workers11,88714.912.39,95113.711.3+1,936
Clerical and Administrative Workers9,53112.012.79,54513.213.6-14
Sales Workers7,5259.48.77,76710.79.7-242
Machinery Operators And Drivers4,4785.66.84,0875.66.9+391
Labourers7,8749.910.17,1389.910.5+736
Inadequately described or not stated1,3721.71.91,2321.71.6+140
Total Persons79,647100.0100.072,411100.0100.0+7,236

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 Cairns in 2021shows the three most popular occupations were:

  • Professionals (16,235 people or 20.4%)
  • Technicians and Trades Workers (11,931 people or 15.0%)
  • Community and Personal Service Workers (11,887 people or 14.9%)

In combination these three occupations accounted for 40,053 people in total or 50.3% of the resident workers (All industries).

In comparison, Queensland employed 21.4% in Professionals; 13.7% in Technicians and Trades Workers and 12.3% in Community and Personal Service Workers.

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

  • A larger percentage of resident workers (All industries) employed as Community and Personal Service Workers (14.9% compared to 12.3%)
  • A smaller percentage of resident workers (All industries) employed as Managers (11.1% compared to 12.5%)
  • A larger percentage of resident workers (All industries) employed as Technicians and Trades Workers (15.0% compared to 13.7%)
  • A smaller percentage of resident workers (All industries) employed as Machinery Operators And Drivers (5.6% compared to 6.8%)

Emerging groups

The number of resident workers (All industries) in Cairns increased by 7,236 between 2016 and 2021.

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

  • Professionals (+2,299 persons)
  • Community and Personal Service Workers (+1,936 persons)
  • Technicians and Trades Workers (+1,105 persons)
  • Managers (+885 persons)

Cairns Regional Council

economic profile