BUSINESS OWNERS IN VICTORIA


WHERE DO BUSINESS OWNERS LIVE?

In 2009-10, business owners represented between 11% and 27% of income earners in SA4s in Victoria, with higher proportions of business owners in the rest of Victoria than in Greater Melbourne. North West (27%) had the highest proportion of business owners followed by Warrnambool and South West with 26%. Melbourne - West had the lowest proportion of business owners with 11%, followed by Melbourne - North East, Melbourne - North West and Melbourne - South East with 13%.

HOW MUCH DOES UNINCORPORATED BUSINESS INCOME CONTRIBUTE TO INCOME FROM ALL SOURCES?

In 2009-10, income from unincorporated businesses contributed between 4% and 9% to total income from all sources in SA4s in Victoria. Income from unincorporated businesses made the highest contribution to total income from all sources in Warrnambool and South West and Melbourne - Inner East (both 9%) and the lowest contribution in Shepparton and Melbourne - West (4%).


WHAT INDUSTRIES DO BUSINESS OWNERS WORK IN?

In 2011, business owners in Victoria mainly worked in similar industries to business owners across Australia. Construction, agriculture, forestry and fishing and professional, scientific and technical services were the three main industries of employment for business owners in Victoria. Professional, scientific and technical services was the main industry in the 3 SA4s located in inner Melbourne. Construction was the main industry of employment among business owners in outer Melbourne, Mornington Peninsula and the regional centres of Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong. Agriculture, forestry and fishing was the main industry in the remaining 5 SA4s in Victoria. Across the state, 7% of business owners worked in retail trade and there was little difference in proportion among SA4s. The proportions of business owners who worked in the other services industry were between 6% and 11 % in SA4s throughout Victoria, providing necessary services such as hairdressing and beauty services, automotive repair and maintenance and other personal services.

Construction

In 2011, business owners in the construction industry represented between 9% and 31% of business owners in SA4s in Victoria. Most of the SA4s with higher proportions of business owners in construction were located in Greater Melbourne, including Mornington Peninsula (31%) and Melbourne - Outer East (29%), which had the highest proportions. Outside of Greater Melbourne, Geelong had the highest proportion of business owners working in construction, with 26%.

Between 2006 and 2011, the number of people working in construction in Victoria increased by 23% from 2006 to 2011. The number of business owners in this industry increased in most SA4s, but by a smaller amount. Melbourne - West had the largest increase with 13%, followed by Melbourne - North West, with 11%. The number of business owners in construction decreased in 5 SA4s: Melbourne - Inner East (by 7%), Shepparton and Warrnambool and South West (by 6%) and North West and Melbourne - Outer East (by 4%). Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

In 2011, up to 45% of business owners in Victoria's SA4s worked in agriculture, forestry and fishing. Warrnambool and South West had the highest proportion of business owners in this industry with 45%, followed by North West with 43%.

Between 2006 and 2011, the number of business owners working in agriculture, forestry and fishing decreased in all SA4s in Victoria. Melbourne - North East had the largest decrease of 36% (from 219 to 140), while Melbourne - Inner South and Melbourne - Inner had the smallest decrease of 6%. Among SA4s located in the rest of Victoria, where rates of business ownership in agriculture, forestry and fishing were higher, decreases over the period ranged from 13% in Hume to 32% in Shepparton. This reflected an overall decrease in the number of people working in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Victoria, which decreased by 10% during the period.Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

In 2011, between 3% and 25% of business owners in Victorian SA4s worked in professional, scientific and technical services, with higher proportions in SA4s in Greater Melbourne. The proportion of business owners in professional, scientific and technical services was highest in Melbourne - Inner with 27%, followed by Melbourne - Inner East with 21%.

In Victoria, the number of people employed in the professional, scientific and technical services industry grew by 21% between 2006 and 2011. This growth was reflected in the number of business owners in the industry, which increased in all SA4s in Victoria. The biggest growth was in capital city regions and Melbourne - West had the largest increase (42%), followed by Melbourne - North West (31%) and Mornington Peninsula (30%) in south eastern Melbourne.