EMPLOYED

1,334,600

PART-TIME SHARE

15%

WORKFORCE SHARE

9.3%

FEMALE SHARE

14%

MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS

$1,538

MEDIAN AGE

37

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 $1,538 per week, lower than all industries median earnings of $1,600.

On this page

    Employment

    Employment in the Construction industry grew over the 20 years to August 2024.
    The number of workers grew by 13,400 (or 1%) over the last year.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, August 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, Construction Employment
    796900
    811000
    824600
    836400
    847300
    859000
    872300
    885900
    900200
    914300
    925200
    932700
    940600
    951600
    963500
    972100
    977900
    981400
    982500
    981300
    979600
    980500
    984100
    988800
    993700
    1000000
    1004600
    1006600
    1004100
    998900
    991900
    984700
    980800
    983400
    989300
    995100
    1001100
    1006800
    1013500
    1020100
    1025700
    1030200
    1032800
    1035200
    1038800
    1045400
    1053600
    1062500
    1072100
    1086400
    1105300
    1125000
    1143500
    1158900
    1169500
    1173300
    1173300
    1172100
    1172400
    1174300
    1176300
    1177800
    1176500
    1171400
    1164600
    1158400
    1152600
    1148700
    1149800
    1160800
    1181600
    1209700
    1242400
    1273000
    1296800
    1311900
    1321200
    1328100
    1332300
    1334300
    1334600

    Sectors

    Building Installation Services is the largest sector in the Construction industry, employing 307,700 workers.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, August 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
    Building Installation Services 307700
    Building Completion Services 209500
    Residential Building Construction 166000
    Other Construction Services 138400
    Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 132400
    Building Structure Services 100000
    Non-Residential Building Construction 70700
    Land Development and Site Preparation Services 60300

    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, 2023, four-quarter average data, customised report.
    ANZSCO CodeOccupation title
    3312Carpenters and Joiners
    3411Electricians
    1331Construction Managers
    3341Plumbers
    8211Building and Plumbing Labourers
    3322Painting Trades Workers
    3121Architectural, Building and Surveying Technicians
    7212Earthmoving Plant Operators
    8212Concreters
    3622Gardeners

    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 2024.xlsx

    industry_data_-_august_2024.xlsx119159

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