5.7% —
Higher than 75% of council (lga) areas.
- 2016: 7.7%
- 2021: 5.7%
Unemployed people as a share of the labour force (aged 15+).
Cairns · Council (LGA)
Jobs & Industry in Cairns
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 Cairns, where 18.1% of workers are in these fields. The local job market shows a strong participation rate, though full-time employment has dipped since 2016. Overall, Cairns has a diverse workforce across both professional and service-based roles.
Labour force
Employment, participation and unemployment.
More adults in Cairns are working or looking for work compared to most areas, at 62.5%. While the unemployment rate of 5.7% is much higher than most areas, it has fallen by 2.0 points since 2016.
62.5% —
Higher than 72% of council (lga) areas.
- 2016: 62.9%
- 2021: 62.5%
Share of people aged 15+ who are in the labour force.
58.5% —
Lower than 57% of council (lga) areas.
- 2016: 62.4%
- 2021: 58.5%
Share of employed people who worked full-time.
Industries
The industries that employ local workers.
After health care, the biggest industries for local workers are accommodation and food (9.9%) and retail trade (9.7%). Education and training (8.9%) and construction (8.7%) also employ a significant portion of the workforce.
Occupations
The kinds of jobs people do.
Professionals make up the largest group of workers at 20.4%. Other common roles include technicians and trades (15.0%), community and personal service workers (14.9%), and clerical and administrative staff (12.0%).
Sources
- Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
More for Cairns
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Jobs & Industry in Cairns [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/lga/LGA32080/cairns/topic/employment