EMPLOYED

909,100

PART-TIME SHARE

16%

WORKFORCE SHARE

6.3%

FEMALE SHARE

30%

MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS

$1,512

MEDIAN AGE

42

Manufacturing is a large employing industry. Around 6.3% of workers have their main job in this industry.

Manufacturing involves transforming materials, substances or components into new products like:

  • food and beverages
  • textiles, leather, clothing and footwear
  • wood and paper products
  • petroleum and coal products
  • chemical, polymer and rubber products
  • mineral and metal products
  • machinery and equipment
  • furniture and other products.

Median earnings are $1,512 per week, lower than all industries median earnings of $1,600., raw_html

On this page

    Employment

    Employment in the Manufacturing industry fell over the 20 years to May 2024.
    The number of workers grew by 14,800 (or 1.7%) over the last year., raw_html

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, May 2024, 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, Manufacturing Employment
    1035200
    1038100
    1037200
    1033000
    1026700
    1020600
    1016900
    1014200
    1012600
    1012700
    1015400
    1021200
    1029100
    1037600
    1045100
    1049100
    1047000
    1039200
    1028300
    1017300
    1007400
    999700
    992800
    986900
    981300
    976600
    971100
    964100
    956000
    949300
    946000
    944800
    943800
    942200
    938800
    933300
    928600
    926200
    925500
    924100
    921700
    918400
    913800
    908000
    900300
    892700
    888600
    890100
    894000
    899000
    903600
    902800
    899800
    899100
    903700
    911900
    917900
    916700
    908300
    898900
    893100
    889000
    886600
    882200
    876100
    872800
    874900
    882000
    887900
    886900
    876800
    865900
    859400
    860500
    868300
    880400
    894300
    905800
    911700
    912200
    909100

    Sectors

    Bakery Product Manufacturing is the largest sector in the Manufacturing industry, employing 55,700 workers., raw_html

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, May 2024, 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
    Bakery Product Manufacturing 55700
    Meat and Meat Product Manufacturing 48200
    Other Manufacturing 44000
    Furniture Manufacturing 42300
    Motor Vehicle and Motor Vehicle Part Manufacturing 40500
    Beverage Manufacturing 38900
    Other Transport Equipment Manufacturing 35000
    Structural Metal Product Manufacturing 32700
    Basic Ferrous Metal Manufacturing 29800
    Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Product Manufacturing 29200
    Professional and Scientific Equipment Manufacturing 27900
    Other Wood Product Manufacturing 26600
    Printing and Printing Support Services 25400
    Other Food Product Manufacturing 25300
    Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing 24800
    Other Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing 24800
    Polymer Product Manufacturing 23500
    Specialised Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing 23500
    Basic Non-Ferrous Metal Manufacturing 21000
    Dairy Product Manufacturing 18400
    Clothing and Footwear Manufacturing 17100
    Computer and Electronic Equipment Manufacturing 16300
    Electrical Equipment Manufacturing 14600
    Sugar and Confectionery Manufacturing 12400
    Log Sawmilling and Timber Dressing 11900
    Basic Non-Ferrous Metal Product Manufacturing 10600
    Other Non-Metallic Mineral Product Manufacturing 10600
    Cement, Lime, Plaster and Concrete Product Manufacturing 10400
    Metal Container Manufacturing 9900
    Textile Product Manufacturing 9400
    Converted Paper Product Manufacturing 7900
    Fruit and Vegetable Processing 6800
    Petroleum and Coal Product Manufacturing 6700
    Cleaning Compound and Toiletry Preparation Manufacturing 6300
    Grain Mill and Cereal Product Manufacturing 6100
    Glass and Glass Product Manufacturing 6000
    Pump, Compressor, Heating and Ventilation Equipment Manufacturing 5600
    Basic Chemical Manufacturing 5500
    Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Manufacturing 5500
    Basic Ferrous Metal Product Manufacturing 5100
    Domestic Appliance Manufacturing 4400
    Fertiliser and Pesticide Manufacturing 4200
    Sheet Metal Product Manufacturing (except Metal Structural and Container Products) 4000
    Ceramic Product Manufacturing 3400
    Other Basic Chemical Product Manufacturing 2800
    Leather Tanning, Fur Dressing and Leather Product Manufacturing 2200
    Seafood Processing 1700
    Oil and Fat Manufacturing 1400
    Basic Polymer Manufacturing 1100
    Iron and Steel Forging 900
    Natural Rubber Product Manufacturing 800
    Textile Manufacturing 800
    Cigarette and Tobacco Product Manufacturing 700
    Reproduction of Recorded Media 400
    Knitted Product Manufacturing 100

    Occupations

    Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers is the largest employing occupation in the Manufacturing 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, 2023, four-quarter average data, customised report.
    ANZSCO CodeOccupation title
    3223Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers
    1335Production Managers
    3232Metal Fitters and Machinists
    8311Food and Drink Factory Workers
    8321Packers
    3941Cabinetmakers
    7411Storepersons
    1334Manufacturers
    6211Sales Assistants (General)
    3511Bakers and Pastrycooks

    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 - May 2024.xlsx

    Industry data - May 2024.xlsx46819

    Download