Accommodation and Food Services

Overview

EMPLOYED

967,200

PART-TIME SHARE

61%

WORKFORCE SHARE

6.5%

FEMALE SHARE

52%

MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS

$1,300

MEDIAN AGE

26

About this data

Accommodation and Food Services is a large employing industry. Around 6.5% of workers have their main job in this industry.

This industry includes:

  • short-term accommodation providers
  • cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services
  • pubs, taverns, bars and clubs
  • clubs providing hospitality services to members.

Median earnings are $1,300 per week, lower than all industries median earnings of $1,741.

Details

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    Employment

    Employment in the Accommodation and Food Services industry grew over the 20 years to February 2026.
    The number of workers grew by 8,900 (or 0.9%) over the last year.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, February 2026, 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, Accommodation and Food Services Employment
    668900
    669000
    673800
    680800
    688600
    694800
    698900
    700700
    703000
    706500
    710200
    713700
    718300
    724900
    731900
    736800
    740500
    745300
    750700
    757600
    763300
    765600
    764600
    762100
    761300
    765400
    771600
    777500
    781700
    783600
    783200
    783200
    786600
    793100
    802500
    812200
    819900
    824500
    827300
    831200
    836400
    842700
    848700
    853900
    859800
    866600
    871600
    874200
    876200
    879600
    882900
    887700
    893900
    901200
    907500
    912200
    915200
    913100
    918100
    925200
    930900
    932200
    930000
    925800
    923900
    928400
    938400
    948700
    955300
    958300
    960500
    963400
    965900
    967200

    Sectors

    Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services is the largest sector in the Accommodation and Food Services industry, employing 696,600 workers.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, February 2026, 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
    Cafes, Restaurants and Takeaway Food Services 696600
    Pubs, Taverns and Bars 106400
    Accommodation 100800
    Clubs (Hospitality) 55000

    Occupations

    Waiters is the largest employing occupation in the Accommodation and Food Services industry.

    The 10 largest employing occupations are shown below.

    Some occupations are common across a number of industries.

    Largest employing occupations

    Source: Ranked using ABS, Labour Force Survey, 2025, four-quarter average data, customised report.
    ANZSCO CodeOccupation title
    4315Waiters
    3513Chefs
    8513Kitchenhands
    4311Bar Attendants and Baristas
    6211Sales Assistants (General)
    1411Cafe and Restaurant Managers
    8511Fast Food Cooks
    4312Cafe Workers
    1421Retail Managers
    3514Cooks
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      Data Downloads

      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 - February 2026.xlsx

      industry_data_-_february_2026.xlsx123358

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