Accommodation and Food Services

Overview

EMPLOYED

981,100

PART-TIME SHARE

61%

WORKFORCE SHARE

6.7%

FEMALE SHARE

52%

MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS

$1,300

MEDIAN AGE

25

About this data

Accommodation and Food Services is a large employing industry. Around 6.7% of workers have their main job in this industry.

This industry includes:

  • short-term accommodation providers
  • cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services
  • pubs, taverns, bars and clubs
  • clubs providing hospitality services to members.

Median earnings are $1,300 per week, lower than all industries median earnings of $1,741.

Details

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    Employment

    Employment in the Accommodation and Food Services industry grew over the 20 years to November 2025.
    The number of workers grew by 26,700 (or 2.8%) over the last year.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, November 2025, Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) trend data.
    Note: Over the COVID-19 pandemic period (highlighted section in the chart above), some industries have censored values, resulting in a broken series for impacted industries. This is due to large quarterly fluctuations in employment resulting in trend data being unreliable for these quarters. Where data are available over the COVID-19 pandemic period, JSA recommends caution when using these trend estimates.
    Quarterly employment, Accommodation and Food Services Employment
    673300
    668900
    669000
    673800
    680800
    688600
    694800
    698900
    700700
    703000
    706500
    710200
    713700
    718300
    724900
    731900
    736800
    740500
    745300
    750700
    757600
    763300
    765600
    764600
    762100
    761300
    765400
    771600
    777500
    781700
    783600
    783100
    783200
    786400
    792900
    802200
    811800
    819400
    824000
    826900
    830800
    835900
    842300
    848200
    853500
    859300
    866100
    871200
    873700
    875600
    879100
    882500
    887200
    893300
    900700
    907000
    911600
    914400
    912300
    917500
    924700
    930400
    931700
    929500
    925200
    923100
    927200
    937000
    947400
    954400
    958800
    964000
    971800
    981100

    Sectors

    Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services is the largest sector in the Accommodation and Food Services industry, employing 706,500 workers.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, November 2025, Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) trend data.
    Note: the sum of sectoral employment may not equal the industry total as data are trended separately, and not further defined (nfd) classifications have been excluded.
    Employment by industry sectors Employment
    Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services 706500
    Pubs, Taverns and Bars 106200
    Accommodation 104400
    Clubs (Hospitality) 50000

    Occupations

    Waiters is the largest employing occupation in the Accommodation and Food Services industry.

    The 10 largest employing occupations are shown below.

    Some occupations are common across a number of industries.

    Largest employing occupations

    Source: Ranked using ABS, Labour Force Survey, 2024, four-quarter average data, customised report.
    ANZSCO CodeOccupation title
    4315Waiters
    3513Chefs
    4311Bar Attendants and Baristas
    8513Kitchenhands
    6211Sales Assistants (General)
    1411Cafe and Restaurant Managers
    8511Fast Food Cooks
    1421Retail Managers
    4312Cafe Workers
    3514Cooks
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      Data Downloads

      Industry data

      This file contains data for all 19 industries to make comparing industry data easy. Information available includes:

      • industry overview
      • industry employment (20-year time series)
      • industry sector employment
      • top employing occupations by industry.

       

      Industry data - November 2025.xlsx

      industry_data_-_november_2025.xlsx100516

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