Canberra Region

Resident workers - Occupations of employment

There are more resident workers (All industries) Professionals in the Canberra Region 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 Canberra Region'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

Current area:
Select industry:
Current benchmark:
Sex:
reset
Did you know? By clicking/tapping on a data row in the table you will be able to see sub categories.
Resident workers occupations
Canberra Region 20212016Change
Occupations (Click rows to view sub-categories)Number%. NSWNumber%. NSW2016 - 2021
Managers23,38316.514.619,58015.813.5+3,803
Professionals26,06318.425.821,18617.123.6+4,877
Technicians and Trades Workers20,64814.611.917,98514.512.7+2,663
Community and Personal Service Workers16,94111.910.614,26111.510.4+2,680
Clerical and Administrative Workers17,59012.413.016,41413.213.8+1,176
Sales Workers11,3008.08.011,2789.19.2+22
Machinery Operators And Drivers8,4616.06.07,5396.16.1+922
Labourers14,66010.38.213,39310.88.8+1,267
Inadequately described or not stated2,8312.01.92,2771.81.8+554
Total Persons141,877100.0100.0123,913100.0100.0+17,964

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.
loading animation
loading animation

Dominant groups

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

  • Professionals (26,063 people or 18.4%)
  • Managers (23,383 people or 16.5%)
  • Technicians and Trades Workers (20,648 people or 14.6%)

In combination these three occupations accounted for 70,094 people in total or 49.4% of the resident workers (All industries).

In comparison, NSW employed 25.8% in Professionals; 14.6% in Managers and 11.9% in Technicians and Trades Workers.

The major differences between the jobs held by the resident workers (All industries) of the Canberra Region and NSW were:

  • A smaller percentage of resident workers (All industries) employed as Professionals (18.4% compared to 25.8%)
  • A larger percentage of resident workers (All industries) employed as Technicians and Trades Workers (14.6% compared to 11.9%)
  • A larger percentage of resident workers (All industries) employed as Labourers (10.3% compared to 8.2%)
  • A larger percentage of resident workers (All industries) employed as Managers (16.5% compared to 14.6%)

Emerging groups

The number of resident workers (All industries) in the Canberra Region increased by 17,964 between 2016 and 2021.

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

  • Professionals (+4,877 persons)
  • Managers (+3,803 persons)
  • Community and Personal Service Workers (+2,680 persons)
  • Technicians and Trades Workers (+2,663 persons)

Canberra Region Joint Organisation area

economic profile