EMPLOYED

1,350,300

PART-TIME SHARE

14%

WORKFORCE SHARE

9.2%

FEMALE SHARE

13%

MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS

$1,598

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 $1,598 per week, lower than all industries median earnings of $1,700.

On this page

    Employment

    Employment in the Construction industry grew over the 20 years to August 2025.
    The number of workers grew by 7,800 (or 0.6%) over the last year.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, August 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
    847300
    858900
    872300
    886000
    900400
    914700
    925500
    932900
    940600
    951700
    963800
    972500
    978300
    981800
    982800
    981400
    979700
    980500
    984100
    988900
    993800
    1000300
    1005000
    1007100
    1004600
    999300
    992100
    984700
    980700
    983400
    989500
    995400
    1001500
    1007100
    1013700
    1020200
    1025600
    1029800
    1032100
    1034500
    1038100
    1044700
    1052900
    1061800
    1071300
    1085500
    1104500
    1124400
    1143100
    1158600
    1169100
    1172800
    1172700
    1171200
    1171400
    1173500
    1175800
    1177300
    1176000
    1171000
    1164200
    1157900
    1151900
    1147800
    1148800
    1159700
    1180400
    1209000
    1242000
    1272800
    1296500
    1311500
    1321000
    1328600
    1334200
    1338900
    1342500
    1347700
    1350200
    1349100
    1350300

    Sectors

    Building Installation Services is the largest sector in the Construction industry, employing 323,100 workers.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, August 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 323100
    Building Completion Services 209400
    Residential Building Construction 166900
    Other Construction Services 134600
    Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 125500
    Building Structure Services 107400
    Non-Residential Building Construction 73900
    Land Development and Site Preparation Services 56800

    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 - August 2025.xlsx

    industry_data_-_august_2025.xlsx105972

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