Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

EMPLOYED

1,346,100

PART-TIME SHARE

19%

WORKFORCE SHARE

9.2%

FEMALE SHARE

43%

MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS

$2,000

MEDIAN AGE

40

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services is a large employing industry. Around 9.2% of workers have their main job in this industry.

Businesses in this industry sell their expertise as a service. Some examples include:

  • scientific research
  • architecture and engineering
  • computer system design
  • legal and accounting services
  • advertising and market research
  • veterinary services
  • professional photography.

A large share of the workforce work in cities.

Median earnings are $2,000 per week, higher than all industries median earnings of $1,700.

On this page

    Employment

    Employment in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry grew over the 20 years to February 2025.
    The number of workers grew by 32,200 (or 2.5%) over the last year.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, May 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, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services Employment
    673000
    688000
    701700
    713100
    722600
    730200
    735400
    740300
    748300
    758700
    768800
    776600
    780500
    782600
    784700
    786300
    791600
    802500
    816800
    829400
    837600
    843300
    847800
    852300
    856700
    863600
    873100
    884900
    896500
    903700
    906800
    907000
    905600
    904300
    905400
    912000
    923600
    937700
    954000
    971500
    986400
    995900
    1003200
    1008100
    1010700
    1012600
    1010900
    1008600
    1008200
    1011000
    1017700
    1028900
    1045200
    1064300
    1084100
    1103800
    1119300
    1128300
    1129900
    1128200
    1127400
    1133800
    1147800
    1164800
    1181000
    1196200
    1213500
    1232800
    1251100
    1267400
    1282000
    1296200
    1309200
    1315700
    1317800
    1316700
    1313900
    1312500
    1315900
    1326900
    1346100

    Sectors

    Computer System Design and Related Services is the largest sector in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry, employing 357,500 workers.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, May 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
    Computer System Design and Related Services 357500
    Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services 338000
    Legal and Accounting Services 311300
    Management and Related Consulting Services 140800
    Scientific Research Services 65500
    Market Research and Statistical Services 45300
    Veterinary Services 40600
    Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 34100
    Advertising Services 31200

    Occupations

    Software and Applications Programmers is the largest employing occupation in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry.

    The 10 largest employing occupations are shown below.

    Some occupations are common across a number of industries.

    Largest employing occupations

    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 2025.xlsx

    industry_data_-_may_2025.xlsx118390

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