City of Melbourne

Employment by industry (Census)

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services is the largest employer in the City of Melbourne, making up 19.9% of total employment.

Census employment data presents the number of persons employed in each industry sector (full-time and part-time) in the City of Melbourne regardless of where they live. By comparing the number of jobs in each industry sector to a regional benchmark, you can clearly see local economic strengths and weaknesses. By looking at how the number of jobs in each industry is changing over time, you can track how the structure of the local economy is changing. Go to the Employment locations page to see where employment is taking place across the City of Melbourne.

Note: Census employment figures are known to undercount employment by varying amounts depending on the Census year. All Census counts are an undercount of total population, and in addition, some people don’t state their workforce status or industry. Also counts by place of work exclude those with no fixed workplace address. For this reason, it is recommended that for total job numbers, users look at the Employment by industry (Total) modelled estimates which are updated on an annual basis, and based on the ABS Labour Force survey, less prone to undercount. The Census counts by industry are included here for a greater level of industry detail (3-digit ANZSIC).

Data source

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

Current benchmark:
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Employment (Census) by industry sector
City of Melbourne20212016Change
IndustryNumber%. VictoriaNumber%. Victoria2016 - 2021
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing6240.12.16420.12.2-18
Mining9540.20.31,5650.40.3-611
Manufacturing11,1472.27.010,9052.57.8+242
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services9,8762.01.18,6782.01.1+1,198
Construction19,1533.89.413,4363.18.3+5,717
Wholesale Trade6,5851.32.86,8941.63.2-309
Retail Trade17,8683.69.419,1844.410.2-1,316
Accommodation and Food Services24,1954.86.229,4806.76.6-5,285
Transport, Postal and Warehousing18,2703.64.716,4123.84.7+1,858
Information Media and Telecommunications19,7433.91.623,7555.41.9-4,012
Financial and Insurance Services77,76215.54.159,91613.73.9+17,846
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services8,1941.61.57,9761.81.6+218
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services100,07719.98.477,92917.87.9+22,148
Administrative and Support Services18,2723.63.117,5034.03.4+769
Public Administration and Safety55,95411.15.641,6589.55.3+14,296
Education and Training30,4936.18.828,1296.48.7+2,364
Health Care and Social Assistance43,5398.714.133,6017.712.5+9,938
Arts and Recreation Services15,1933.01.716,0703.71.9-877
Other Services9,8071.93.58,9892.13.6+818
Industry not classified15,3563.14.614,0293.24.7+1,327
Total persons503,044100.0100.0436,751100.0100.0+66,293

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 local workers in the City of Melbourne in 2021 shows the three most popular industry sectors were:

  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (100,077 people or 19.9%)
  • Financial and Insurance Services (77,762 people or 15.5%)
  • Public Administration and Safety (55,954 people or 11.1%)

In combination these three fields accounted for 233,793 people in total or 46.5% of the local workers.

In comparison, Victoria employed 8.4% in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services; 4.1% in Financial and Insurance Services and 5.6% in Public Administration and Safety.

The major differences between the jobs held by local workers of the City of Melbourne and Victoria were:

  • A larger percentage of local workers employed in the field of Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (19.9% compared to 8.4%)
  • A larger percentage of local workers employed in the field of Financial and Insurance Services (15.5% compared to 4.1%)
  • A smaller percentage of local workers employed in the field of Retail Trade (3.6% compared to 9.4%)
  • A smaller percentage of local workers employed in the field of Construction (3.8% compared to 9.4%)

Emerging groups

The largest changes in the jobs held by local workers between 2016 and 2021 in the City of Melbourne were for those employed in:

  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+22,148 local workers)
  • Financial and Insurance Services (+17,846 local workers)
  • Public Administration and Safety (+14,296 local workers)
  • Health Care and Social Assistance (+9,938 local workers)

Do you want to understand employment and land use in the City of Melbourne core business areas?

City of Melbourne

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