Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

EMPLOYED

1,371,900

PART-TIME SHARE

20%

WORKFORCE SHARE

9.3%

FEMALE SHARE

44%

MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS

$2,000

MEDIAN AGE

40

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services is a large employing industry. Around 9.3% 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 August 2025.
    The number of workers grew by 63,200 (or 4.8%) 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, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services Employment
    688000
    701700
    713100
    722600
    730200
    735400
    740300
    748400
    758800
    768800
    776700
    780600
    782700
    784800
    786300
    791600
    802500
    816800
    829400
    837600
    843300
    847800
    852300
    856700
    863700
    873100
    885000
    896500
    903700
    906800
    907100
    905700
    904400
    905600
    912100
    923700
    937800
    954100
    971600
    986600
    996100
    1003500
    1008300
    1011000
    1012900
    1011100
    1008800
    1008400
    1011200
    1017900
    1029100
    1045400
    1064500
    1084400
    1104100
    1119600
    1128600
    1130200
    1128400
    1127700
    1134100
    1148100
    1165100
    1181300
    1196500
    1213800
    1233100
    1251500
    1267900
    1282400
    1296600
    1309300
    1315300
    1316700
    1314600
    1310800
    1308700
    1312100
    1324500
    1347300
    1371900

    Sectors

    Computer System Design and Related Services is the largest sector in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry, employing 356,800 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
    Computer System Design and Related Services 356800
    Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services 330000
    Legal and Accounting Services 319900
    Management and Related Consulting Services 134600
    Scientific Research Services 67400
    Market Research and Statistical Services 45400
    Veterinary Services 41300
    Advertising Services 34400
    Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 33500

    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 - August 2025.xlsx

    industry_data_-_august_2025.xlsx105972

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