OSCA 5611

General Clerks

Overview

  • Employed persons

    252,700

  • Employment status

    55.9% Full time

    44.1% Part time

  • Median age

    44 years

  • Employment by sex

    86.4% Female

    13.6% Male

    Highly female dominated

  • Indigenous employment share

    2.6%

  • Main employing industry

    Public Administration and Safety

Indicator General Clerks Total employment
Employed persons 252,700 12,049,400
Median age 44 years 40 years
Full-time share 55.9% 64.2%
Part-time share 44.1% 35.8%
Female employment share 86.4% 48.5%
Male employment share 13.6% 51.5%
Gender segregation intensity scale Highly female dominated Gender balanced
Indigenous employment share 2.6% 2.2%
Main employing industry Public Administration and Safety Health Care and Social Assistance
Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

Occupation overview

General Clerks perform a range of clerical and administrative tasks.

Skill level (education and experience level)

Skill level 4
equivalent to a lower‑level Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification (Certificate II or III).

Note: While skill levels are described using formal education levels, some people use a combination of informal learning, on-the-job training and personal experience to achieve an equivalent level.

OSCA structure

Clerical and Administrative Workers (5)

Employment

On this page

    Industries

    Top 10 most common industries, 2021

    General Clerks Total employment
    Industry Share of occupation Industry Share of occupation
    Public Administration and Safety 15.9% Health Care and Social Assistance 14.5%
    Health Care and Social Assistance 14.8% Retail Trade 9.1%
    Education and Training 14.2% Construction 8.9%
    Construction 8.2% Education and Training 8.8%
    Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.1% Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.8%
    Financial and Insurance Services 5.2% Public Administration and Safety 6.6%
    Manufacturing 3.7% Accommodation and Food Services 6.5%
    Retail Trade 3.5% Manufacturing 5.9%
    Other Services 3.4% Transport, Postal and Warehousing 4.5%
    Transport, Postal and Warehousing 3.4% Financial and Insurance Services 3.7%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    States and territories

    Employment distribution by states and territories, 2021

    • New South Wales

      31.3%

    • Victoria

      23.1%

    • Queensland

      21.5%

    • South Australia

      6.8%

    • Tasmania

      2.1%

    • Northern Territory

      1.1%

    • Australian Capital Territory

      3.6%

    General Clerks Total employment
    State / Territory Employment Share of occupation Employment Share of occupation
    New South Wales 79,200 31.3% 3,684,200 30.6%
    Victoria 58,400 23.1% 3,162,900 26.2%
    Queensland 54,500 21.5% 2,444,100 20.3%
    South Australia 17,200 6.8% 839,400 7.0%
    Western Australia 26,200 10.4% 1,306,200 10.8%
    Tasmania 5,300 2.1% 254,700 2.1%
    Northern Territory 2,900 1.1% 107,000 0.9%
    Australian Capital Territory 9,000 3.6% 248,600 2.1%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    Age and sex

    Employment distibution by age group and sex, 2021

    General Clerks

    Total employment

    Age group General Clerks Total employment
    15–24 years 10.0% 14.3%
    25–34 years 19.0% 22.7%
    35–44 years 21.6% 22.3%
    45–54 years 24.3% 20.4%
    55–64 years 19.3% 15.3%
    65–74 years 5.1% 4.3%
    75 years and over 0.6% 0.6%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.
    Sex General Clerks Total employment
    Female 86.4% 48.5%
    Male 13.6% 51.5%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    On this page

      OSCA occupation profiles data

      This file contains data available from the OSCA Occupation Profile page.

      Use of this data must include the relevant attribution text provided.

      OSCA Occupation data - 2021 Census.xlsx

      xlsx 1236447

      Download

      Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA)

      Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA) is the skill-based classification used to categorise occupations across the Australian labour market. OSCA is used to define occupations across all official occupational statistics. OSCA replaces the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).

      Each job is classified to one, and only one, group of jobs at each level of the classification with no overlaps. This prevents the accidental double-counting of roles within the Australian labour market. For more information about OSCA, visit the What is OSCA information page, or the ABS website.

      Find out more

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