Cairns

Local workers - Occupations - All industries

In Cairns, 21.0% of workers were Professionals, compared to 21.4% in Queensland.

Occupation is a key component for evaluating the socio-economic status of the local workers and the skills required to work in each industry sector.

The occupations of the local workers in Cairns will be influenced by factors including:

  • The economic base and employment opportunities available in Cairns;
  • The age of the workforce;
  • The skill and qualification level required to enter an industry; and
  • The working and social aspirations of the population.

For a complete local workers analysis for Cairns, view Occupations in conjunction with other indicators, such as Educational qualifications and Income.

Data source

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2016 & 2021 – by place of work

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Local workers occupations
Cairns - All industries 20212016Change
Occupations (Click rows to view sub-categories)Number%. QueenslandNumber%. Queensland2016 - 2021
Managers8,42411.312.47,58911.212.1+835
Professionals15,66121.021.413,37619.819.9+2,285
Technicians and Trades Workers10,23013.713.79,17513.614.2+1,055
Community and Personal Service Workers11,36515.312.49,41714.011.4+1,948
Clerical and Administrative Workers9,38412.612.79,42314.013.7-39
Sales Workers7,3309.98.77,63511.39.7-305
Machinery Operators And Drivers3,6374.96.83,3945.06.9+243
Labourers7,1129.610.16,3559.410.6+757
Inadequately described or not stated1,2591.71.91,1011.61.6+158
Total Persons74,402100.0100.067,465100.0100.0+6,937

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

Please refer to specific data notes for more information
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 All industries workforce in Cairns in 2021shows the three most popular occupations were:

  • Professionals (15,661 local workers or 21.0%)
  • Community and Personal Service Workers (11,365 local workers or 15.3%)
  • Technicians and Trades Workers (10,230 local workers or 13.7%)

In combination these three occupations accounted for 37,256 people in total or 50.1% of the All industries local workers.

In comparison, Queensland employed 21.4% as Professionals; 12.4% as Community and Personal Service Workers and 13.7% as Technicians and Trades Workers.

The major differences between the jobs held by the workforce in Cairns and Queensland were:

  • A larger percentage of local workers employed as Community and Personal Service Workers (15.3% compared to 12.4%)
  • A smaller percentage of local workers employed as Machinery Operators And Drivers (4.9% compared to 6.8%)
  • A larger percentage of local workers employed as Sales Workers (9.9% compared to 8.7%)
  • A smaller percentage of local workers employed as Managers (11.3% compared to 12.4%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the jobs held by the workforce in Cairns between2016 and 2021 were those employed as:

  • Professionals (+2,285 local workers)
  • Community and Personal Service Workers (+1,948 local workers)
  • Technicians and Trades Workers (+1,055 local workers)
  • Managers (+835 local workers)

Cairns Regional Council

economic profile