Australian Government - SkillsInfo

Professional scientific and technical services


Professional, Scientific and Technical Services employs approximately 852,000 persons, full time and part time, which is around 7.8 per cent of the total workforce. Over the past five years, employment in the industry has increased at a rate of 5.2 per cent per annum. The median age for workers in this industry is 38 years and median earnings are around $1208 per week (before tax) for full-time employees.

Industry Employment Outlooks provide detailed analysis of employment characteristics, trends and prospects by industry, and highlight specific sectors where job growth is the strongest. Specific issues highlighted in these outlooks include workforce ageing, employment share by gender, educational profile, weekly earnings, average hours worked, regional and occupational employment.

Below is an Industry Employment Overview of the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry. For more detailed information go to Industry Employment Profiles or directly to the Industry and Regional Tables page for data on broad (ANZSIC 1 digit) industries.

For information on data sources, including time periods, go to Help.

The following summary table illustrates how this historical trend translates into rates of growth within various time intervals (i.e. one, two, five and ten years).

          

Source: DEEWR Trend Data based on ABS Labour Force, Australia, Cat no: 6291.0.55.003 – February 2010

The following shows projected future growth, general employment characteristics and the proportion of workers aged 45 years and over in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry.

           
 

Characteristics and Mature Age Source: DEEWR Special Order based on ABS Labour Force, Australia, Cat no: 6291.0.55.003 – Calendar Year Average 2009

The following shows the top 10 employing DEEWR Labour Market Regions (LMRs) for this industry including the number employed by each region (in 000's):

Sydney 225.3
Melbourne 185.9
Brisbane 119.3
Perth 70.1
Adelaide 44.5
Southern NSW (incl ACT) 33.3
Hunter 26.2
Central and North QLD 21.4
Western Victoria 16.8
Tasmania 12.4

Source: Four quarter average based on ABS Labour Force, Australia, Cat no: 6291.0.55.003 – February 2010

More information on employment in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry by DEEWR Labour Market Region or by ABS Labour Force Region can be viewed by clicking the relevant link.

The top employing occupations in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry are shown below. Click on any of the occupation titles to go to the Job Outlook web page for that occupation. Job Outlook contains a comprehensive statistical profile for each occupation, as well as links to Australian JobSearch and My Future.

Accountants 81.6
Software and Applications Programmers 40.8
Solicitors 39.2
Bookkeepers 27.5
Graphic and Web Designers, and Illustrators 25.2
Secretaries 23.5
Advertising and Sales Managers 18.2
Management and Organisation Analysts 18.1
Advertising and Marketing Professionals 16.6
Architects and Landscape Architects 16.5

Source: DEEWR Special Order based on ABS Labour Force, Australia, Cat no: 6291.0.55.003 – Calendar Year Average 2009.

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