Australian Jobs 2021
Labourers
Annual employment growth
Labourers perform a variety of routine and repetitive physical tasks. Some Labourer jobs require physical fitness (like Building and Plumbing Labourers) but not all involve heavy work (for example, Fast Food Cooks).
Jobs in this group are often advertised informally, with many being filled by applicants approaching the employer directly.
Most Labourer positions do not generally require post-school qualifications, a large share of workers are aged 15 to 24 years and part-time work is common. Accordingly, there are good opportunities for young people to gain work experience or combine work with study. There are also opportunities for workers across Australia, with 40% of Labourers employed in regional areas.
Top employing occupations
| Commercial Cleaners | 167,000 |
| Kitchenhands | 138,800 |
| Packers | 71,300 |
| Other Miscellaneous Labourers | 70,500 |
| Shelf Fillers | 65,000 |
While formal qualifications are not necessarily a requirement for these roles, some may require mandatory tickets or licences. In addition, job seekers will generally need to possess a driver licence and their own transport.
Almost a third of employers who recruit for Labourers use word-of-mouth. If you are looking for work in these occupations, consider speaking to friends, family and your broader network about opportunities. There has also been a large increase in the proportion of employers using social media when hiring Labourers (from 12% of employers in 2019 to 21% in 2020).
Employment by occupation subgroup, Labourers
| Employment | Employment Profile | Workforce Educational Profile | Projected Employment | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employ’t May 2021 | 5 year change to May 2021 |
Part-time | Female | Aged 15 to 24 years | Aged 55 years or older | Bachelor degree or higher | Cert III or higher VET qual | No post-school qual | 5 year change to May 2025 | ||
| Occupation subgroup | ‘000 | ‘000 | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % |
| Cleaners and Laundry Workers | 280.2 | 11.3 | 4.2 | 66 | 58 | 13 | 28 | 14 | 23 | 57 | 4.4 |
| Construction and Mining Labourers | 170.1 | 4.0 | 2.4 | 15 | 3 | 18 | 14 | 5 | 36 | 50 | 4.9 |
| Factory Process Workers | 194.2 | 5.0 | 2.6 | 26 | 36 | 18 | 19 | 14 | 19 | 60 | 1.2 |
| Farm, Forestry and Garden Workers | 110.0 | -11.5 | -9.4 | 35 | 28 | 23 | 22 | 5 | 29 | 55 | 2.1 |
| Food Preparation Assistants | 190.5 | 18.5 | 10.8 | 82 | 52 | 60 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 74 | 8.6 |
| Other Labourers | 233.9 | 33.8 | 16.9 | 50 | 23 | 27 | 25 | 7 | 23 | 58 | 4.6 |
| All Labourers | 1,181.9 | 59.4 | 5.3 | 48 | 35 | 26 | 20 | 10 | 24 | 59 | 4.4 |
Sources: ABS, Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations; ABS, Characteristics of Employment; ABS, Education and Work; ABS, Labour Force (seasonally adjusted and annual averages of original data); National Skills Commission, Survey of Employers’ Recruitment Experiences; National Skills Commission, Employers’ Insights on the Australian Labour Market: 2020 Data Report; National Skills Commission, Skills Priority List, 2021.