Australian Jobs 2021
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
Annual Employment Growth (%)
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services is a large and diverse industry and includes legal and accounting services, veterinary services, and computer system design. Employment is mostly located in capital cities and 65% of jobs are concentrated in New South Wales and Victoria.
This is a highly skilled workforce, with more than 80% holding post-school qualifications. Reflecting the time it takes to attain the required qualifications, a small share of this workforce is young (aged 15 to 24 years old). Workers in the industry are mostly employed as Professionals (62%).
Top employing occupations
| Occupation | This industry | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| Accountants | 99,200 | 198,100 |
| Software and Applications Programmers | 91,600 | 150,700 |
| Solicitors | 68,800 | 96,600 |
| Management and Organisation Analysts | 44,200 | 101,500 |
| Advertising and Marketing Professionals | 40,700 | 88,900 |
| Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Managers | 35,000 | 156,500 |
| ICT Support Technicians | 33,300 | 61,100 |
| Graphic and Web Designers, and Illustrators | 30,000 | 54,100 |
| Bookkeepers | 28,200 | 97,100 |
| ICT Managers | 27,600 | 84,400 |
| Architects and Landscape Architects | 27,200 | 46,400 |
| General Clerks | 27,100 | 311,200 |
| Civil Engineering Professionals | 25,900 | 53,000 |
| Architectural, Building and Surveying Technicians | 18,700 | 78,200 |
| Database and Systems Administrators, and ICT Security Specialists | 18,600 | 52,800 |
| Computer Network Professionals | 17,300 | 38,600 |
| ICT Business and Systems Analysts | 15,600 | 41,100 |
| Contract, Program and Project Administrators | 14,500 | 123,000 |
| Conveyancers and Legal Executives | 14,300 | 14,600 |
| Office Managers | 14,200 | 115,900 |
There are opportunities to work as your own boss within this industry, with more than a quarter of the workforce self-employed.
While dependent on the role they are performing, workers in this industry often have scope to work remotely. In December 2020, around half (49%) of the businesses in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services industry still had staff working from home, compared with 16% across all industries.
Sources: ABS, Labour Force (seasonally adjusted and annual averages of original data); ABS, Characteristics of Employment; ABS, Education and Work.