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EMPLOYMENT

Census of Population and Housing

Data on the people involved in design can be obtained from several sources.

There were 26,737 people whose main job in August 2001 was in the Architectural services industry. The 2001 Census of Population and Housing found that over half of those in the industry worked as either Architects and landscape architects (10,787 people) or Architectural associates (4,143 people).

Advertising services employed large numbers of people in non-cultural occupations - particularly in sales. Graphic designers, generally considered to be one of the main creative activities in the industry, were less than 8% of employees.

A third of those employed in the Commercial arts and display services industry were Graphic designers (5,493 people) or Signwriters (3,395 people). The remaining employees were distributed amongst a large number of both cultural and non-cultural occupations.

15.2 PERSONS EMPLOYED IN SELECTED DESIGN INDUSTRIES(a), By Occupation - August 2001
		Number	%
Architectural services
	Architects and landscape architects	10 787	40.3
	Architectural associates	4 143	15.5
	Building and engineering associate professionals, n.f.d.	1 590	5.9
	Urban and regional planners	850	3.2
	Civil engineers and engineering associates	715	2.7
	Interior designers	696	2.6
	Other occupations	7 956	29.8
	Total occupations	26 737	100.0
Advertising services
	Sales representatives (Business services)	2 472	9.6
	Sales and marketing managers	2 381	9.2
	Advertising specialists	2 213	8.6
	Graphic designers	1 928	7.5
	Media producers	1 063	4.1
	Leaflet and newspaper deliverers	1 031	4.0
	Other occupations	14 725	57.0
	Total occupations	25 813	100.0
Commercial Art and display services
	Graphic designers	5 493	37.0
	Signwriters	3 395	22.9
	Printing tradespersons	293	2.0
	Media producers	248	1.7
	Designers and illustrators, n.f.d.	218	1.5
	Advertising specialists	171	1.2
	Other occupations	5 012	33.8
	Total occupations	14 830	100.0
(a) In their main job in the week before Census Night.
ABS, Census of Population and Housing, 2001, data available on request.

Work Survey

The 2004 Survey of Work in Selected Culture and Leisure Activities, which collected data on any involvement with design, found that there were 370,200 people who had worked in design activities in the 12 months to April 2004. Of these, about two-thirds (66%) received some payment for their involvement.

The most common design activities undertaken were Graphic design (142,600 people) and Advertising (128,800 people). Fashion design was the only activity where the number of females involved exceeded the number of males.

15.3 PERSONS INVOLVED IN DESIGN, By selected characteristics - 12 months ending April 2004
		Males	Females	Persons
		'000	'000	'000
Involvement part of a job held last week(a)		109.4	83.1	192.4
Involvement not part of any job held last week(a)(b)		101.5	71.7	173.2
Annual income from design activity(c)
	No payment	66.2	60.3	126.5
	Less than $5,000	48.0	28.8	76.8
	$5,000 to $19,999	19.1	13.9	33.0
	$20,000 to 39,999	*13.3	17.5	53.3
	$40,000 or more	35.7	17.7	67.0
Type of design activity undertaken(d)
	Graphic design	82.2	60.4	142.6
	Fashion design	*6.8	21.1	27.9
	Architecture	46.9	15.0	61.9
	Advertising	67.2	61.6	128.8
	Other design activities	65.2	35.0	100.1
Total persons		213.6	156.5	370.2
* estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution
(a) Excludes persons for whom detailed information was not available.
(b) Includes persons who were unemployed or not in the labour force.
(c) Excludes people who received payment-in-kind only and people who did not state the amount of payment they received.
(d) Components do not add to the total number of people undertaking design activities as some people undertook more than one type of design activity.
ABS, Survey of Work in Selected Culture and Leisure Activities, April 2004, data available on request.