CHARACTERISTICS OF BUSINESS OWNERS
The next sections of this article use data from the 2011 Census to provide more information about the characteristics, including age, gender and industry of employment, of people who work in an unincorporated business as their main job.
In 2011, males were much more likely than females to have a main job as a business owner, making up approximately two thirds (66%) of these business owners in Australia. This differed from the overall working population, of which 53% were male and 47% were female.
There was little variation in this pattern across Australia and between 63% and 68% of business owners were male in all capital city and rest of state or territory regions. The rest of the Northern Territory had the largest proportion of female business owners with 37%, while Greater Adelaide, the rest of South Australia, Greater Perth and Greater Hobart had the largest proportions of male business owners with 68%.
Business owners tended to be older than the overall working population. In Australia, the median age of business owners was 47 years in 2011, 7 years older than the overall working population. The median age of business owners was older than the working population in every state and territory. Tasmanian business owners had the highest median age, at 49 years, while the Northern Territory had the youngest business owners, with a median age of 46 years.
Business owners in capital cities were younger than those in rest of state regions in all states. The rest of Victoria and the rest of South Australia had the oldest business owners, with a median age of 50 years. The youngest business owners, with a median age of 45 years, were found in Greater Melbourne.
CHARACTERISTICS OF BUSINESS OWNERS BY GCCSA(a)(b) - 2011
|
| Region | Percentage of Male Business Owners | Percentage of Female Business Owners | Median Age of Business Owners | Median Age of Total Employed |
 | % | % | years | years |
|
| New South Wales | 66 | 34 | 47 | 40 |
| Greater Sydney | 66 | 34 | 46 | 39 |
| Rest of NSW | 66 | 34 | 49 | 42 |
| Victoria | 67 | 33 | 47 | 40 |
| Greater Melbourne | 66 | 34 | 45 | 39 |
| Rest of Vic. | 67 | 33 | 50 | 43 |
| Queensland | 64 | 36 | 47 | 40 |
| Greater Brisbane | 65 | 35 | 46 | 39 |
| Rest of Qld. | 64 | 36 | 48 | 41 |
| South Australia | 68 | 32 | 48 | 41 |
| Greater Adelaide | 68 | 32 | 47 | 40 |
| Rest of SA | 68 | 32 | 50 | 44 |
| Western Australia | 67 | 33 | 47 | 40 |
| Greater Perth | 68 | 32 | 46 | 40 |
| Rest of WA | 67 | 33 | 49 | 42 |
| Tasmania | 67 | 33 | 49 | 42 |
| Greater Hobart | 68 | 32 | 48 | 41 |
| Rest of Tas. | 67 | 33 | 49 | 43 |
| Northern Territory | 65 | 35 | 46 | 39 |
| Greater Darwin | 66 | 33 | 46 | 38 |
| Rest of NT | 63 | 37 | 46 | 39 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 67 | 33 | 47 | 38 |
|
| Australia(c) | 66 | 34 | 47 | 40 |
|
| (a) Business owners refers to persons whose main job in the week before Census was as an owner-manager of an unincorporated business. |
(b) Greater Capital City Statistical Areas are defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, 2011.
(c) Australia includes Other Territories. |
| Source: ABS, Census of Population and Housing, 2011. |
Business ownership is an important source of employment for people in older age groups. The table below presents the proportion of employed people in different age groups who worked as a business owner as their main job in 2011. Younger workers in the early stages of their working lives were unlikely to run an unincorporated business as their main job, with only 5% of employed 20-34 year olds in Australia in this group. Business ownership increased with age, with business owners representing more than one in five workers (22%) aged 65 years and over in 2011.
The rest of Victoria and the rest of South Australia had the highest proportions of business owners among workers aged 65 years and over, with almost one third (30%) of employed people working as a business owner as their main job.
The rest of South Australia had the highest proportion of people working as a business owner as their main job in each age group, and this is consistent with the large proportion of business owners identified in this region using Estimates of Personal Income data in the section above.
BUSINESS OWNERS, Percentage of Employed Persons by GCCSA(a)(b) - 2011
|
| Region | 20-34 years | 35-49 years | 50-64 years | 65 years and over |
| % | % | % | % |
|
| New South Wales | 5 | 10 | 12 | 22 |
| Greater Sydney | 4 | 9 | 10 | 17 |
| Rest of NSW | 6 | 11 | 14 | 28 |
| Victoria | 5 | 9 | 11 | 22 |
| Greater Melbourne | 4 | 8 | 10 | 18 |
| Rest of Vic. | 6 | 11 | 15 | 30 |
| Queensland | 5 | 9 | 12 | 22 |
| Greater Brisbane | 4 | 8 | 10 | 19 |
| Rest of Qld. | 5 | 11 | 14 | 25 |
| South Australia | 5 | 10 | 13 | 24 |
| Greater Adelaide | 5 | 9 | 12 | 22 |
| Rest of SA | 7 | 13 | 18 | 30 |
| Western Australia | 5 | 10 | 12 | 21 |
| Greater Perth | 5 | 10 | 12 | 19 |
| Rest of WA | 6 | 11 | 15 | 26 |
| Tasmania | 5 | 10 | 13 | 25 |
| Greater Hobart | 5 | 9 | 12 | 23 |
| Rest of Tas. | 5 | 11 | 14 | 26 |
| Northern Territory | 3 | 7 | 8 | 16 |
| Greater Darwin | 3 | 8 | 9 | 18 |
| Rest of NT | 3 | 6 | 7 | 14 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 3 | 5 | 7 | 16 |
|
| Australia(c) | 5 | 9 | 12 | 22 |
|
| (a) Business owners refers to persons whose main job in the week before Census was as an owner-manager of an unincorporated business. |
| (b) Greater Capital City Statistical Areas are defined in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, 2011. |
| (c) Australia includes Other Territories. |
| Source: ABS, Census of Population and Housing, 2011. |
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