EMPLOYED

1,360,000

PART-TIME SHARE

14%

WORKFORCE SHARE

9.2%

FEMALE SHARE

13%

MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS

$1,600

MEDIAN AGE

37

Construction is a large employing industry. Around 9.2% of workers have their main job in this industry.

Businesses in this industry are mainly involved in activities like:

  • demolition, clearing and site preparation
  • residential and non-residential building
  • heavy and civil engineering construction
  • other construction services.

Median earnings are $1,600 per week, lower than all industries median earnings of $1,741.

On this page

    Employment

    Employment in the Construction industry grew over the 20 years to November 2025.
    The number of workers grew by 11,900 (or 0.9%) 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, Construction Employment
    858900
    872300
    886000
    900400
    914700
    925500
    932900
    940600
    951800
    963800
    972500
    978300
    981900
    982900
    981500
    979700
    980500
    984200
    988900
    993900
    1000300
    1005000
    1007100
    1004600
    999300
    992100
    984700
    980700
    983500
    989600
    995400
    1001500
    1007100
    1013700
    1020200
    1025600
    1029800
    1032100
    1034600
    1038200
    1044700
    1053000
    1061800
    1071400
    1085600
    1104600
    1124500
    1143200
    1158700
    1169200
    1172900
    1172800
    1171300
    1171400
    1173600
    1175900
    1177400
    1176100
    1171100
    1164300
    1158000
    1151900
    1147900
    1148800
    1159700
    1180500
    1209000
    1242100
    1272800
    1296500
    1311600
    1321000
    1328600
    1334100
    1338800
    1342500
    1348100
    1351400
    1351300
    1353700
    1360000

    Sectors

    Building Installation Services is the largest sector in the Construction industry, employing 328,200 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
    Building Installation Services 328200
    Building Completion Services 214400
    Residential Building Construction 161400
    Other Construction Services 143000
    Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 124900
    Building Structure Services 114900
    Non-Residential Building Construction 73900
    Land Development and Site Preparation Services 56200

    Occupations

    Electricians is the largest employing occupation in the Construction 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
    3411Electricians
    3312Carpenters and Joiners
    1331Construction Managers
    3341Plumbers
    8211Building and Plumbing Labourers
    3322Painting Trades Workers
    3121Architectural, Building and Surveying Technicians
    7212Earthmoving Plant Operators
    3622Gardeners
    8212Concreters

    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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