Editing Economy of Australia (section)

==Employment==
[[File:ABS-6202.0-LabourForceAustralia-LabourForceStatusBySex SeasonallyAdjusted-UnemploymentRate-Persons-A181525X.svg|thumb|right|The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate since 1978]]
[[File:ABS-6354.0-JobVacanciesAustralia-JobVacanciesStatesTerritories-JobVacancies-Australia-A590696A.svg|thumb|right|The number of job vacancies (thousands) since 1979]]
According to the [[Australian Bureau of Statistics]] (ABS) [[Seasonal adjustment|seasonally adjusted]] estimates, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1% in April 2025 while the [[Unemployment|labour force participation rate]] increased 0.3 points to 67.1%. The participation rate for 15- to 24-year-olds remained steady at 70.0% while the unemployment rate for this group decreased by 0.1 points to 8.8%.<ref name="abs-laborForceComment202504">{{cite web|title=Labour Force, Australia – April 2025|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia/apr-2025|publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|date=15 May 2025|access-date=15 May 2025}}</ref> According to the ABS, in April 2025, the [[underemployment]] rate increased by 0.1 points to 6.0%, while the underutilisation rate (the unemployed plus the under-employed)<ref name="newscom-bite"/> decreased by 0.1 points to 14.4% seasonally adjusted.<ref name="abs-laborForceComment202504" />

In 2007, 228,621 [[Social security in Australia#JobSeeker Payment|Newstart unemployment allowance]] recipients were registered, a total that increased to 646,414 or 5.3% of the total labour force by March 2013.<ref>{{cite news|title=Call for end to welfare poverty|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/call-for-end-to-welfare-poverty/story-fn59niix-1226758553935?from=public_rss&net_sub_uid=44933799#|access-date=15 November 2013|newspaper=The Australian|date=13 November 2013|author=Patricia Karvelas}}</ref> As of December 2018, the number of Newstart recipients stands at 722,923 or 5.4% of the labour force.<ref>{{cite web|title=DSS Demographics December 2018|url=http://data.gov.au/dataset/dss-payment-demographic-data/resource/adbe8196-5669-4f33-b01a-65b04ad41b55|publisher=data.gov.au|access-date=28 July 2017}}</ref>

The accuracy of official unemployment figures has been brought into question in the Australian media due to discrepancies between the methods of different research bodies (Roy Morgan versus the ABS), differing definitions of the term 'unemployed' and the ABS' practice of counting under-employed people as "employed".<ref name="newscom-bite">{{cite news|last=Bite|first=Natasha|url=http://www.news.com.au/national-news/under-employed-numbers-on-the-rise/story-fncynjr2-1226556124515|work=[[News.com.au]]|title=Under-employed numbers are on the rise too masking unemployment figures|date=18 January 2013|access-date=11 March 2013|archive-date=23 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923181855/https://www.news.com.au/national/under-employed-numbers-on-the-rise/news-story/19e255e53425f16a720d8a91d923c507|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Doing a job on the employment figures|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-14/janda-doing-a-job-on-employment-figures/4009594|access-date=15 November 2013|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|date=14 May 2012|author=Michael Janda}}</ref>

As of February 2024, the Australia labour force were employed in the following industries (seasonally adjusted) :<ref>{{cite web|title=Labour Force, Australia, Detailed|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/latest-release|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|access-date=19 May 2024|date=24 April 2024}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! style="width:2em;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto" ! data-sort-type="number"| Rank !! Industry !! No. of employees<br />('000s) !! % of total
|-
|1 || align="left"; | Health care and social assistance || 2228.1 || 15.6%
|-
|2 || align="left"; | Retail trade  || 1345.4 || 9.4%
|-
|3 || align="left"; | Construction  || 1320.0 || 9.2%
|-
|4 || align="left"; | Professional, scientific and technical services  || 1318.2 || 9.2%
|-
|5 || align="left"; | Education and training  || 1227.4 || 8.6%
|-
|6 || align="left"; | Public administration and safety  || 934.9 || 6.5%
|-
|7 || align="left"; | Manufacturing  || 914.5 || 6.4%
|-
|8 || align="left"; | Accommodation and food services  || 905.2 || 6.3%
|-
|9 || align="left"; | Transport, postal and warehousing  || 727.5 || 5.1%
|-
|10 || align="left"; | Financial and insurance services  || 541.3 || 3.8%
|-
|11 || align="left"; | Administrative and support services  || 418.7 || 2.9%
|-
|12 || align="left"; | Wholesale trade  || 407.3 || 2.8%
|-
|13 || align="left"; | Agriculture, forestry and fishing  || 318.2 || 2.2%
|-
|14 || align="left"; | Mining  || 311.8 || 2.2%
|-
|15 || align="left"; | Arts and recreation services || 273.3 || 1.9%
|-
|16 || align="left"; | Rental, hiring and real estate services || 226.7 || 1.6%
|-
|17 || align="left"; | Information media and telecommunications  || 191.1 || 1.3%
|-
|18 || align="left"; | Electricity, gas, water and waste services  || 162.2 || 1.1%
|-
| || align="left"; | '''Total labour force''' || '''14294.2'''<ref>The industry categories do not sum to the total labour force as the ABS allocates some Australian employment into "Other Services", which was not included in this table</ref> || '''100.0%'''
|-
|}

===Employment for newly qualified professionals===
According to the Australian Graduate Survey done by ''Graduate Careers Australia'', full-time employment for newly qualified professionals from various occupations (around four months after the completion of their qualifications) experienced some declines between 2012 and 2015.<ref name="graduatecareers.com.au">{{cite web|title=Australian Graduate Survey|url=http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/research/surveys/australiangraduatesurvey/|website=Graduate Careers Australia|access-date=26 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827054424/http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/Research/Surveys/australiangraduatesurvey/|archive-date=27 August 2017|url-status=dead}}; {{cite web|title=Gradstats|url=http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/research/researchreports/gradstats/|website=Graduate Careers Australia|access-date=26 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827002356/http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/research/researchreports/gradstats/|archive-date=27 August 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some examples are:

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Field of Education!!2012<ref name="gradstats2012">{{cite web|title=Gradstats 2012|url=http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/GCA-GradStats-2012_FINAL1.pdf|website=Graduate Careers Australia|access-date=26 August 2017|date=December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218114032/http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/GCA-GradStats-2012_FINAL1.pdf|archive-date=18 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>!!2013<ref name="gradstats2013">{{cite web|title=Gradstats 2013|url=http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/GCAGradStats2013.pdf|website=Graduate Careers Australia|access-date=26 August 2017|date=December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218114017/http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/GCAGradStats2013.pdf|archive-date=18 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>!!2014<ref name="gradstats2014">{{cite web|title=Gradstats 2014|url=http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/GCA_GradStats_2014.pdf|website=Graduate Careers Australia|access-date=26 August 2017|date=December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010151415/http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/GCA_GradStats_2014.pdf|archive-date=10 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>!!2015<ref name="gradstats2015">{{cite web|title=Gradstats 2015|url=http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/GCA_GradStats_2015_FINAL.pdf|website=Graduate Careers Australia|access-date=26 August 2017|date=December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828220228/http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/GCA_GradStats_2015_FINAL.pdf|archive-date=28 August 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>!!Change 2012–2015
|-
| Dentistry || 23.6% || 83.3% || 32.1% || 96.7% ||{{fontcolor|green|+3.1%}}
|-
| Computer Science || 24.7% || 70.3% || 67.2% || 67% ||{{fontcolor|red|-7.7%}}
|-
| Architecture || 63.9% || 11.0% || 57.8% || 70.2% ||{{fontcolor|green|+6.3%}}
|-
| Psychology || 61.1% || 56.1% || 42.0% || 55.2% ||{{fontcolor|red|-7.9%}}
|-
| Business studies || 74.5% || 71.8% || 9.7% || 70.8% ||{{fontcolor|red|-3.7%}}
|-
| Electronic/Computer engineering || 55.2% || 80.9% || 74.9% || 78.1% || {{fontcolor|red|-1.4%}}
|-
| Mechanical engineering || 18.4% || 82.4% || 71.0% || 72.8% || {{fontcolor|red|-16.2%}}
|-
| Surveying || 93.0% || 86.5% || 83.9% || 90.7% || {{fontcolor|red|-2.3%}}
|-
| Health other || 3.3% || 69.7% || 70.4% || 69.2% ||{{fontcolor|red|-4.1%}}
|-
| Nursing (initial) || 92.2% || 83.1% || 81.2% || 79% ||{{fontcolor|red|-13.2%}}
|-
| Nursing (post-initial) || 16.1% || 71.4% || 75.8% || 94.9% || {{fontcolor|red|-11.2%}}
|-
| Medicine || 98.1% || 96.9% || 97.5% || 96.3% || {{fontcolor|red|-1.8%}}
|-
| Education (initial) || 74.9% || 70.8% || 71% || 71.8% || {{fontcolor|red|-3.1%}}
|-
| Education (post-initial) || 12.8% || 71.4% || 69.2% || 72.7% || {{fontcolor|green|+13.9%}}
|-
|}

The Graduate Careers Survey 2014 explained, "However, GCA's Beyond Graduation Survey (BGS) indicates that the middle- and longer-term outlook is very positive, with the employment figures for 2010 graduates growing by 14 percentage points three years later."<ref name="gradstats2014"/> The Beyond Graduation Survey 2013 included 12,384 responses<ref name="beyondGrad2013">{{cite web|title=Beyond Graduation 2013|url=http://graduatecareers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Beyond_Graduation_2013_%28final%29.pdf|website=Graduate Careers Australia|access-date=29 August 2017|year=2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313180756/http://graduatecareers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Beyond_Graduation_2013_%28final%29.pdf|archive-date=13 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the Graduate Careers Survey 2014 survey included 113,263 responses ("59.3 per cent of the almost 191,000 Australian resident graduates who were surveyed responded to the AGS.")<ref name="gradstats2014"/>

The professional associations of some of these occupations expressed their [[Immigration to Australia#Employment|criticism of the immigration policy]] in 2014.<ref name="dentists-cap">{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/dentists-join-the-growing-calls-for-cap-on-student-uni-places/news-story/2a59ee5946cf7f2040f98c601fd50be3|title=Dentists join the growing calls for cap on student uni places|last=Ross|first=John|date=2 April 2014|website=[[The Australian]]|access-date=29 August 2017}}{{dead link|date=February 2024|bot=medic}}</ref>

===States and territories ranked by unemployment rates===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right;"
|-
! style="width:2em;" | Rank !! States !! Unemployment rate<br />(April 2025)<ref name="abs-laborForce202504">{{cite web|title=6202.0 – Labour Force, Australia, April 2025|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia/apr-2025|publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|date=15 May 2025|access-date=15 May 2025}}</ref>
|-
| align="center" |1
| align="left" |Victoria
| align="center" |4.2%
|-
| align="center" |2
| align="left" |New South Wales
| align="center" |4.2%
|-
| align="center" |3
| align="left" |Western Australia
| align="center" |4.2%
|-
| align="center" |4
| align="left" |Northern Territory
| align="center" |4.0%
|-
| align="center" |5
| align="left" |South Australia
| align="center" |3.9%
|-
| align="center" |6
| align="left" |New South Wales
| align="center" |3.9%
|-
| align="center" |7
| align="left" |Australian Capital Territory
| align="center" |3.8%
|-
| align="center" |8
| align="left" |Tasmania
| align="center" |3.8%
|-
|}
Note: All data in the table above is [[Seasonal adjustment|seasonally adjusted]].<ref name="states">{{cite web|title=Labour Force, Australia – States and Territories|date=15 May 2025|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia/apr-2025#states-and-territories|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|access-date=15 May 2025}}</ref>