ANZSCO 3223

Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers

Overview

EMPLOYED

79,100

PART-TIME SHARE

FEMALE SHARE

MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS

$1,688

MEDIAN AGE

ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT GROWTH

1,100

About this data

Summary

Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers cut, shape, join and repair metal components of iron and steel structures, boilers, pressure vessels and pipes, ships and other vessels.

Tasks

Studying blueprints, drawings and specifications to determine job requirements
Selecting, cleaning and preparing metal stock
Cutting marked-out metal sections and shapes using hand tools, flame cutting torches and metal cutting machines
Shaping and bending metal sections and pipes using hand and machine tools, and by heating and hammering
Aligning parts to be joined using hand tools and measuring instruments
Joining metal sections using various welding techniques, bolting and riveting
Examining welds for width of bead, penetration and precision
Finishing products by cleaning, polishing, filing and bathing in acidic solutions
Cleaning and smoothing welds by filing, chiselling and grinding

ANZSCO Classification

Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers (3223)

Details

Earnings and Hours

Weekly Earnings (Before Tax)

Important note: These data (on an ANZSCO basis) will not be updated again. The ANZSCO‑based occupation pages and download file will remain available but will no longer receive updates.
JSA will release new OSCA‑based occupation profiles in mid‑2026.

Source: Share of workers who work full-time hours: ABS, Labour Force Survey, 2025, four-quarter average, customised report.
Average full-time hours worked per week: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.
Median full-time earnings per week and Median hourly earnings: ABS, Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
Note: median earnings data have not been produced for some occupations where there is a high standard error, and are published with "N/A" values.
Earnings and Hours	Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers	All Occupations
Share of workers who work full-time hours	96%	69%
Average full-time hours worked per week	46 hours	44 hours
Median full-time earnings per week	$1,688	$1,852
Median hourly earnings	$44	$47

Industries

Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers work in industries like:

Important note: These data (on an ANZSCO basis) will not be updated again. The ANZSCO‑based occupation pages and download file will remain available but will no longer receive updates.
JSA will release new OSCA‑based occupation profiles in mid‑2026.

Source: Ranked using ABS, Labour Force Survey, 2025, four-quarter average data, custom report.
Note: industries that comprise less than 5% of an occupation have been suppressed.

States and territories

New South Wales

23.1%

Victoria

18.6%

Queensland

23.0%

South Australia

8.7%

Western Australia

22.3%

Tasmania

3.0%

Northern Territory

0.9%

Australian Capital Territory

0.4%

Important note: These data (on an ANZSCO basis) will not be updated again. The ANZSCO‑based occupation pages and download file will remain available but will no longer receive updates.
JSA will release new OSCA‑based occupation profiles in mid‑2026.

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, Detailed, February 2026, Jobs and Skills Australia trend data.

Age and gender

Age and Gender Profile

Important note: These data (on an ANZSCO basis) will not be updated again. The ANZSCO‑based occupation pages and download file will remain available but will no longer receive updates.
JSA will release new OSCA‑based occupation profiles in mid‑2026.

Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, 2025, four-quarter average, customised report.
Age and Gender	Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers	All Occupations
Median age	39 years	39 years
Female share of employment	1%	48%

Important note: These data (on an ANZSCO basis) will not be updated again. The ANZSCO‑based occupation pages and download file will remain available but will no longer receive updates.
JSA will release new OSCA‑based occupation profiles in mid‑2026.

Source: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.
Age Profile (% Share)	All Occupations	Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers
15–19	5.2	5.8
20–24	9.1	10.4
25–34	22.7	23.9
35–44	22.3	21.7
45–54	20.4	20.2
55–59	8.8	9.0
60–64	6.5	5.9
65 and Over	4.9	3.1

Education

Visit

Your Career to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.

Important note: These data (on an ANZSCO basis) will not be updated again. The ANZSCO‑based occupation pages and download file will remain available but will no longer receive updates.
JSA will release new OSCA‑based occupation profiles in mid‑2026.

Source: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.
Highest Level of Educational Attainment (% Share)	All Occupations	Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate	12.2	0.4
Bachelor degree	23.2	2.1
Advanced Diploma/Diploma	11.1	3.3
Certificate III/IV	19.5	66.1
Year 12	15.9	10.3
Year 11	4.0	3.9
Year 10 and below	9.7	10.8

Occupation profiles data

This file contains data displayed on the Occupation Profile pages.

Use of data in this file must include the relevant attribution text provided.

Occupation profiles data - February 2026.xlsx

Occupation profiles data - February 2026.xlsx942127

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Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations

Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) is the skill-based classification system used to categorise occupations in the Australian and New Zealand labour markets. ANZSCO provides a basis for the standardised collection, analysis and dissemination of occupation data. Visit the ABS website to learn how ANZSCO works. Jobs and Skills Australia displays data for occupations that are defined by ANZSCO 2013 Version 1.3.

Occupation data

Important note

These data (on an ANZSCO basis) will not be updated again. The ANZSCO‑based occupation pages and download file will remain available but will no longer receive updates.

The ABS has temporarily suspend publishing Labour Force Survey occupation data while they make changes to the way they conduct the survey.

When they recommence publishing occupation data it will be based on the new Occupation Standard Classification of Australia (OSCA) basis.

JSA will release new OSCA‑based occupation profiles in mid‑2026. For more detail on this modernisation program see ABS LFS modernisation:
https://www.abs.gov.au/about/key-priorities/data-acquisition-modernisation-program/modernising-labour-force-survey

Employed

This is the number of people employed in an occupation as their main job.

Sources:

ANZSCO 4-digit occupations: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, February 2026, Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) trend data.
ANZSCO 6-digit occupations: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.
Data for Senior Non-Commissioned Defence Force Officers (1392) and Defence Force Members - Other Ranks (4411): ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.

Please note ANZSCO 6-digit figures do not sum to match the total for their 4-digit parent as the figures come from different sources.

Part–time share

This is the proportion of people employed in an occupation who work part-time (those who usually work less than 35 hours a week) in all their jobs combined.

Sources:

ANZSCO 4–digit occupations: ABS, Labour Force Survey, 2025, four-quarter average data, customised report.
ANZSCO 6-digit occupations: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence. Note: those who were classified as 'Employed, away from work' at the time of the 2021 Census (accounting for approx. 8% of total employment), have been excluded from the denominator.
Data for Senior Non-Commissioned Defence Force Officers (1392) and Defence Force Members - Other Ranks (4411): ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.

Please note data for some ANZSCO 4-digit occupations has been suppressed due to inherent volatility associated with small Labour Force Survey estimates.

Please note data for ANZSCO 6-digit occupations with less than 50 people employed have been suppressed to protect confidentiality and prevent identification of individuals.

Female share

This is the proportion of people employed in an occupation who are female.

Sources:

ANZSCO 4–digit occupations: ABS, Labour Force Survey, 2025, four-quarter average data, customised report.
ANZSCO 6-digit occupations: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.
Data for Senior Non-Commissioned Defence Force Officers (1392) and Defence Force Members - Other Ranks (4411): ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.

Please note data for some ANZSCO 4-digit occupations has been suppressed due to inherent volatility associated with small Labour Force Survey estimates.

Please note data for ANZSCO 6-digit occupations with less than 50 people employed have been suppressed to protect confidentiality and prevent identification of individuals.

Median weekly earnings

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

This is the median pay for full–time non–managerial employees paid at the adult rate before tax and salary sacrificed amounts. The full–time non–managerial employees paid at the adult rate population has been used because it excludes people paid unusually high or low amounts (for example managers, part–time employees and youths). This allows for more accurate comparison between occupations. These figures are a guide only and should not be used to determine a wage rate as they do not take into account years of experience or other factors may influence a person’s wage.

Please note median weekly earnings figures are not produced for the following occupations:

ANZSCO 6–digit occupations.
Senior Non-Commissioned Defence Force Officers (1392) and Defence Force Members - Other Ranks (4411).
ANZSCO 4–digit occupations where there is a relative standard error of 25% or higher.

Median age

This is the median age of all workers in an occupation.

Sources:

ANZSCO 4–digit occupations: ABS, Labour Force Survey, 2025, four-quarter average data, customised report.
ANZSCO 6-digit occupations: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.
Data for Senior Non-Commissioned Defence Force Officers (1392) and Defence Force Members - Other Ranks (4411): ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.

Please note data for ANZSCO 6-digit occupations with less than 50 people employed have been suppressed to protect confidentiality and prevent identification of individuals.

Annual employment growth

This is the change in total employment over the past year.

Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, February 2026, Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) trend data.

Please note annual employment growth figures are not produced for the following occupations:

ANZSCO 6–digit occupations.
Senior Non-Commissioned Defence Force Officers (1392) and Defence Force Members - Other Ranks (4411).

Why aren’t OSCA data being used?

As our occupation profiles are based on the ABS Labour Force Survey and Census data, we are reliant on the ABS releasing these coded to OSCA. It is our understanding that ABS will commence using the OSCA classification for Labour Force Survey data in 2026.

Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA)

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Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers

Overview

Summary

Tasks

ANZSCO Classification

Details

On this page

Earnings and Hours

Industries

States and territories

Age and gender

Education

On this page

Occupation profiles data

Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations

Occupation data

Important note

Employed

Part–time share

Female share

Median weekly earnings

Median age

Annual employment growth

Why aren’t OSCA data being used?