





Top 5 Professional Occupations
Occupation | Number |
---|---|
Registered Nurses | 279,300 |
Accountants | 184,800 |
Primary School Teachers | 158,900 |
Secondary School Teachers | 131,600 |
Software and Applications Programmers | 109,100 |
The Professionals group employs a larger number of Australian workers (almost one in every four) than any other occupation group. The group has also accounted for the largest number of new jobs over the past five years (up by 375,000 or 14.8%). Significant numbers of jobs were created for Health Professionals (up by 117,700), including Midwifery and Nursing Professionals (up by 49,100) and Medical Practitioners (26,800).
In line with the recent employment growth, the number of vacancies advertised on the Internet for Professionals has increased by around 40% since 2013 (but remains well below the peak in 2008).
The majority (65%) of Professionals are employed in just three industries: Health Care and Social Assistance, Education and Training and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services.
Most Professional jobs require a bachelor degree or higher qualification (75% of Professionals have this level of qualification), so university study is the main pathway for employment. Higher education enrolments have increased strongly over the past decade (up by 45%). In 2016 there were more than 1.06 million domestic students enrolled in higher education. Accordingly, for some Professional occupations, there are now large numbers of qualified applicants vying for vacancies and there is evidence of a surplus of labour. Consistent with this, bachelor degree graduate employment outcomes have fallen over the past decade (see Higher Education).
Did you know?
Professionals are the least likely to drive to work and the most likely to take public transport or bicycle
A relatively low proportion of Professionals are young (aged 15 to 24 years), mainly because it takes at least three years of post-school study to gain the necessary qualifications.
There are marked differences in the representation of men and women across occupations in the Professionals group. Around 74% of Health Professionals and 72% of Education Professionals are female, but 82% of ICT Professionals are male. The extent of part‑time employment also varies, being relatively rare for ICT Professionals but more common for Arts and Media Professionals, Health Professionals and Education Professionals.
Professionals perform analytical, conceptual and creative tasks which are less susceptible to automation with technology. Professionals employment is projected to grow strongly over the five years to May 2022 (up by 12.1%).
Employment by occupation subgroup, Professionals
Employment | Employment Profile | Workforce Educational Profile | Projected Employment | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Employ’t Nov 2017 | 5 year change to Nov 2017 |
Part-time | Female | Aged 15 to 24 years | Aged 55 years or older | Bachelor degree or higher | Cert III or higher VET qual | No post-school qual | 5 year change to May 2022 | ||
Occupation subgroup | ‘000 | ‘000 | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % |
Arts and Media Professionals | 104.7 | 8.8 | 9.2 | 41 | 53 | 10 | 18 | 51 | 20 | 24 | 0.1 |
Business, Human Resource and Marketing Professionals | 707.3 | 84.9 | 13.6 | 18 | 49 | 6 | 16 | 65 | 18 | 13 | 8.7 |
Design, Engineering, Science and Transport Professionals | 407.0 | 14.8 | 3.8 | 16 | 31 | 7 | 15 | 72 | 18 | 7 | 10.0 |
Education Professionals | 583.8 | 79.6 | 15.8 | 35 | 72 | 7 | 23 | 84 | 10 | 5 | 9.6 |
Health Professionals | 610.4 | 111.7 | 22.4 | 37 | 74 | 5 | 21 | 82 | 12 | 3 | 21.3 |
ICT Professionals | 249.0 | 23.9 | 10.6 | 8 | 18 | 4 | 10 | 68 | 15 | 12 | 12.3 |
Legal, Social and Welfare Professionals | 245.5 | 53.5 | 27.9 | 30 | 63 | 4 | 25 | 82 | 11 | 5 | 12.9 |
All Professionals1 | 2,914.1 | 375.0 | 14.8 | 26 | 55 | 6 | 19 | 75 | 14 | 8 | 12.1 |
Sources: ABS, Labour Force (trend and annual averages of original data); ABS, Census of Population and Housing; ABS, Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations; Department of Jobs and Small Business, Occupation Employment Projections; Department of Jobs and Small Business, Internet Vacancy Index; Department of Education and Training, Higher Education Statistics; QILT, Graduate Outcomes Survey
1. Some data are trend and, for these, totals do not add
For more information see joboutlook.gov.au