5.3% —
Lower than 58% of capital city areas.
- 2016: 6.8%
- 2021: 5.3%
Unemployed people as a share of the labour force (aged 15+).
Greater Melbourne · Capital City
Jobs & Industry in Greater Melbourne
Work across the area — who is in the labour force, in which industries and jobs.
Health care and social assistance is the biggest employer in Greater Melbourne, where 13.5% of the workforce is employed in these fields. The region has a strong job market, with a much higher proportion of adults working or looking for work than in most similar areas. This activity supports a large, diverse economy across various professional and trade sectors.
Labour force
Employment, participation and unemployment.
About 64.1% of adults are working or looking for work, which is well above the national figure of 61.1%. While the unemployment rate is around the middle for similar areas at 5.3%, full-time employment fell 2.1 percentage points to 60.1% since 2016.
64.1% —
Higher than 84% of capital city areas.
- 2016: 61.9%
- 2021: 64.1%
Share of people aged 15+ who are in the labour force.
60.1% —
Higher than 71% of capital city areas.
- 2016: 62.2%
- 2021: 60.1%
Share of employed people who worked full-time.
Industries
The industries that employ local workers.
The workforce is spread across several key sectors, led by health care and social assistance at 13.5%. Other major employers include professional and technical services at 9.6%, retail trade at 9.4%, and construction at 9.3%.
Occupations
The kinds of jobs people do.
Professional roles are the most common occupation at 26.8%, followed by managers at 13.8%. Clerical and administrative staff make up 12.9% of the workforce, while technicians and trades account for 12.1%.
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Greater Melbourne
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Jobs & Industry in Greater Melbourne [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/gccsa/2GMEL/greater-melbourne/topic/employment