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 the South East Queensland will be influenced by factors including:
- The economic base and employment opportunities available in the South East Queensland;
- 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 the South East Queensland, 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
Current area:
Select industry:
Current benchmark:
Sex:
| Local workers occupations | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South East Queensland - All industries | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||||
| Occupations (Click rows to view sub-categories) | Number | % | Queensland | Number | % | Queensland | 2016 - 2021 | ||
| Managers | 220,243 | 12.8 | 12.4 | 181,856 | 12.2 | 12.1 | +38,387 | ||
| Professionals | 409,622 | 23.8 | 21.4 | 328,567 | 22.1 | 19.9 | +81,055 | ||
| Technicians and Trades Workers | 206,366 | 12.0 | 13.7 | 184,261 | 12.4 | 14.2 | +22,105 | ||
| Community and Personal Service Workers | 209,665 | 12.2 | 12.4 | 169,806 | 11.4 | 11.4 | +39,859 | ||
| Clerical and Administrative Workers | 235,040 | 13.7 | 12.7 | 221,373 | 14.9 | 13.7 | +13,667 | ||
| Sales Workers | 155,579 | 9.1 | 8.7 | 152,387 | 10.3 | 9.7 | +3,192 | ||
| Machinery Operators And Drivers | 98,454 | 5.7 | 6.8 | 85,659 | 5.8 | 6.9 | +12,795 | ||
| Labourers | 152,184 | 8.9 | 10.1 | 137,164 | 9.2 | 10.6 | +15,020 | ||
| Inadequately described or not stated | 31,028 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 23,595 | 1.6 | 1.6 | +7,433 | ||
| Total Persons | 1,718,181 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,484,668 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +233,513 | ||
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 | |||||||||
Dominant groups
An analysis of the jobs held by the All industries workforce in the South East Queensland in 2021shows the three most popular occupations were:
- Professionals (409,622 local workers or 23.8%)
- Clerical and Administrative Workers (235,040 local workers or 13.7%)
- Managers (220,243 local workers or 12.8%)
In combination these three occupations accounted for 864,905 people in total or 50.3% of the All industries local workers.
In comparison, Queensland employed 21.4% as Professionals; 12.7% as Clerical and Administrative Workers and 12.4% as Managers.
The major differences between the jobs held by the workforce in the South East Queensland and Queensland were:
- A larger percentage of local workers employed as Professionals (23.8% compared to 21.4%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers employed as Technicians and Trades Workers (12.0% compared to 13.7%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers employed as Labourers (8.9% compared to 10.1%)
- A smaller percentage of local workers employed as Machinery Operators And Drivers (5.7% compared to 6.8%)
Emerging groups
The largest changes in the jobs held by the workforce in the South East Queensland between2016 and 2021 were those employed as:
- Professionals (+81,055 local workers)
- Community and Personal Service Workers (+39,859 local workers)
- Managers (+38,387 local workers)
- Technicians and Trades Workers (+22,105 local workers)