Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

EMPLOYED

1,311,900

PART-TIME SHARE

19%

WORKFORCE SHARE

9.0%

FEMALE SHARE

43%

MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS

$2,000

MEDIAN AGE

39

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services is a large employing industry. Around 9% 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 November 2024.
    The number of workers fell by 7,200 (or -0.5%) over the last year.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, November 2024, 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
    644200
    657700
    672800
    687800
    701500
    712800
    722300
    729900
    735300
    740300
    748300
    758500
    768400
    776100
    780100
    782300
    784500
    786300
    791700
    802400
    816500
    828900
    837100
    842900
    847500
    852100
    856700
    863600
    873000
    884700
    896000
    903100
    906200
    906700
    905500
    904600
    906000
    912600
    923800
    937500
    953300
    970100
    984900
    994500
    1001800
    1006600
    1009400
    1011300
    1009600
    1007400
    1007100
    1010100
    1016800
    1027900
    1044100
    1063100
    1082700
    1102100
    1117500
    1126500
    1128300
    1126800
    1126500
    1133000
    1146600
    1163200
    1179500
    1194700
    1211900
    1230800
    1249100
    1265400
    1280000
    1294300
    1307900
    1315500
    1319100
    1319400
    1317500
    1314700
    1311900

    Sectors

    Computer System Design and Related Services is the largest sector in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry, employing 354,700 workers.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, November 2024, 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 354700
    Legal and Accounting Services 319300
    Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services 318200
    Management and Related Consulting Services 134500
    Scientific Research Services 60200
    Market Research and Statistical Services 48900
    Veterinary Services 38700
    Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 37100
    Advertising Services 27400

    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 - November 2024.xlsx

    industry_data_-_november_2024.xlsx119240

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