Australia: construction industry employment 2023

From the first half of 2020 until the second half of 2021, Australia’s construction industry was disrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic. The industry had seen a steady rise in employment since 2013, with the number of employees recovering to around 1.28 million in 2022. As of November 2023, construction industry employment stood at approximately 1.35 million.

How important is the construction industry?

The construction industry plays a major economic role in Australia, producing around seven percent of the country’s GDP. The value of private sector construction was significantly higher than the value of public sector construction in 2023. Combined, these sectors cover engineering construction work, non-residential building, and residential building. Engineering construction work, which encompasses infrastructure, was the most predominant of the three. In 2023, the value of residential construction work completed across Australia’s private and public sectors amounted to around 30 billion Australian dollars higher than that of non-residential construction work.

Job outlook

The leading occupations in the construction industry were carpenters and joiners. Roles within this industry vary greatly, with many entry level jobs not requiring a tertiary education degree. In terms of trade work, apprenticeships and traineeships were the main pathways to enter the market. While the job outlook has consistently been robust in this industry, in 2023, the labor productivity index showed a decline compared to the previous year. On top of this, challenges faced in recent years, such as fluctuating material costs, project delays, and skilled worker shortages, could slow down growth in this industry.