Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

EMPLOYED

1,329,200

PART-TIME SHARE

19%

WORKFORCE SHARE

9.2%

FEMALE SHARE

43%

MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS

$1,900

MEDIAN AGE

39

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services is a large employing industry. Around 9.2% 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 $1,900 per week, higher than all industries median earnings of $1,600.

On this page

    Employment

    Employment in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry grew over the 20 years to August 2024.
    The number of workers grew by 15,000 (or 1.1%) over the last year.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, August 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
    633400
    644100
    657700
    672800
    687800
    701400
    712800
    722300
    729900
    735200
    740300
    748300
    758500
    768300
    776100
    780100
    782300
    784500
    786300
    791700
    802400
    816400
    828800
    837100
    842900
    847400
    852100
    856600
    863600
    872900
    884600
    895900
    903000
    906200
    906600
    905400
    904500
    905800
    912400
    923600
    937300
    953100
    970100
    985100
    994700
    1002000
    1006800
    1009600
    1011600
    1009800
    1007600
    1007300
    1010300
    1017000
    1028000
    1044300
    1063300
    1082900
    1102300
    1117700
    1126800
    1128600
    1127000
    1126700
    1133200
    1146900
    1163500
    1179800
    1195000
    1212200
    1231000
    1249200
    1265400
    1279600
    1293500
    1306700
    1314200
    1318500
    1321000
    1323900
    1329200

    Sectors

    Computer System Design and Related Services is the largest sector in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry, employing 358,300 workers.

    Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, August 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 358300
    Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services 322000
    Legal and Accounting Services 321200
    Management and Related Consulting Services 130500
    Scientific Research Services 55800
    Market Research and Statistical Services 49700
    Other Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 37900
    Veterinary Services 36500
    Advertising Services 29200

    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 - August 2024.xlsx

    industry_data_-_august_2024.xlsx119159

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