Construction

Overview

EMPLOYED

1,371,500

PART-TIME SHARE

14%

WORKFORCE SHARE

9.3%

FEMALE SHARE

13%

MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS

$1,600

MEDIAN AGE

37

About this data

Construction is a large employing industry. Around 9.3% 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.

Details

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    Employment

    Employment in the Construction industry grew over the 20 years to February 2026.
    The number of workers grew by 22,000 (or 1.6%) over the last year.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, February 2026, 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
    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
    1020100
    1025500
    1029700
    1032000
    1034500
    1038100
    1044600
    1052900
    1061700
    1071200
    1085500
    1104400
    1124400
    1143100
    1158600
    1169000
    1172800
    1172700
    1171200
    1171300
    1173400
    1175700
    1177300
    1175900
    1171000
    1164200
    1157800
    1151800
    1147700
    1148700
    1159600
    1180400
    1208900
    1242000
    1272700
    1296400
    1311500
    1320900
    1328400
    1333800
    1338300
    1341700
    1346700
    1349500
    1349400
    1352600
    1360900
    1371500

    Sectors

    Building Installation Services is the largest sector in the Construction industry, employing 324,900 workers.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, February 2026, 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 324900
    Building Completion Services 216000
    Residential Building Construction 166100
    Other Construction Services 139100
    Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 128400
    Building Structure Services 108900
    Non-Residential Building Construction 80000
    Land Development and Site Preparation Services 58000

    Occupations

    Carpenters and Joiners 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, 2025, four-quarter average data, customised report.
    ANZSCO CodeOccupation title
    3312Carpenters and Joiners
    3411Electricians
    1331Construction Managers
    3341Plumbers
    8211Building and Plumbing Labourers
    3121Architectural, Building and Surveying Technicians
    3322Painting Trades Workers
    8212Concreters
    3622Gardeners
    7212Earthmoving Plant Operators
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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 - February 2026.xlsx

      industry_data_-_february_2026.xlsx123358

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