OSCA 832131

Packer (General)

Overview

  • Employed persons

    28,700

  • Employment status

    49.4% Full time

    50.6% Part time

  • Median age

    38 years

  • Employment by sex

    56.0% Female

    43.9% Male

    Gender balanced

  • Indigenous employment share

    1.7%

  • Main employing industry

    Manufacturing

Indicator Packer (General) Total employment
Employed persons 28,700 12,049,400
Median age 38 years 40 years
Full-time share 49.4% 64.2%
Part-time share 50.6% 35.8%
Female employment share 56.0% 48.5%
Male employment share 43.9% 51.5%
Gender segregation intensity scale Gender balanced Gender balanced
Indigenous employment share 1.7% 2.2%
Main employing industry Manufacturing Health Care and Social Assistance
Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

Occupation overview

Packers (General) pack, wrap, fill, label and seal containers by hand or machine for a wide variety of products such as food, beverage, paint, oil and lotion.

What the occupation involves

  • Operates machinery and equipment to fill containers, bottles or boxes with products
  • Inspects goods to ensure they are free of defects and meet quality standards
  • Weighs and measures goods to ensure they are packaged correctly
  • Seals the containers, bottles or boxes securely using appropriate methods to safeguard the contents during storage or transit
  • Affixes labels to packages, indicating contents, destination, weight and other relevant information
  • Organises and arranges packaged goods for storage or shipment

Common occupation titles

No alternative occupation titles are listed for this occupation.

Specialisations

  • Bottling Attendant
  • Labelling Machine Operator

Note: Specialisations are examples of roles in within this occupation and are not separate OSCA occupations.

Skill level (education and experience level)

Skill level 5
equivalent to secondary education, or a Certificate I).

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.

Licensing or registration requirements

No licensing or registration requirements are listed for this occupation.

OSCA structure

Labourers (8)

Employment

On this page

    Industries

    Top 10 most common industries, 2021

    Packer (General) Total employment
    Industry Share of occupation Industry Share of occupation
    Manufacturing 41.5% Health Care and Social Assistance 14.5%
    Retail Trade 14.7% Retail Trade 9.1%
    Administrative and Support Services 9.7% Construction 8.9%
    Health Care and Social Assistance 6.6% Education and Training 8.8%
    Wholesale Trade 5.2% Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.8%
    Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 3.4% Public Administration and Safety 6.6%
    Transport, Postal and Warehousing 2.8% Accommodation and Food Services 6.5%
    Accommodation and Food Services 1.9% Manufacturing 5.9%
    Other Services 0.8% Transport, Postal and Warehousing 4.5%
    Construction 0.7% 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

      31.6%

    • Victoria

      33.3%

    • Queensland

      14.9%

    • South Australia

      10.3%

    • Tasmania

      1.6%

    • Northern Territory

      0.2%

    • Australian Capital Territory

      0.5%

    Packer (General) Total employment
    State / Territory Employment Share of occupation Employment Share of occupation
    New South Wales 9,100 31.6% 3,684,200 30.6%
    Victoria 9,600 33.3% 3,162,900 26.2%
    Queensland 4,300 14.9% 2,444,100 20.3%
    South Australia 3,000 10.3% 839,400 7.0%
    Western Australia 2,200 7.6% 1,306,200 10.8%
    Tasmania 460 1.6% 254,700 2.1%
    Northern Territory 50 0.2% 107,000 0.9%
    Australian Capital Territory 140 0.5% 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

    Packer (General)

    Total employment

    Age group Packer (General) Total employment
    15–24 years 21.1% 14.3%
    25–34 years 21.5% 22.7%
    35–44 years 17.8% 22.3%
    45–54 years 19.5% 20.4%
    55–64 years 16.4% 15.3%
    65–74 years 3.4% 4.3%
    75 years and over 0.3% 0.6%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.
    Sex Packer (General) Total employment
    Female 56.0% 48.5%
    Male 43.9% 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.

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