4172.0 - Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2011  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 19/12/2011   
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Contents >> Design >> Employment

EMPLOYMENT

Census of Population and Housing

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

The 2006 Census of Population and Housing found that there were 30,086 people whose main job in the week prior to Census Night 2006 was in the architectural services industry. The Census also found that over half of those in the industry worked as either architects (10,854 people) or architectural draftspersons (5,142 people).

Advertising services employed 27,647 people, with the majority (71%) in non-cultural occupations. Less than 7% of employees were graphic designers.

Nearly half (48%) of those employed in other specialised design services were graphic designers (6,919 people) or signwriters (2,012 people). The remaining employees were distributed amongst a large number of both cultural and non-cultural occupations.

15.3 PERSONS EMPLOYED IN SELECTED DESIGN INDUSTRIES(a)(b), By occupation - 2006

Number
%

Architectural services
Architects
10 854
36.1
Architectural draftspersons
5 142
17.1
Urban and regional planners
1 417
4.7
Landscape architects
1 392
4.6
Interior designers
1 133
3.8
Graphic designers
150
0.5
Other cultural occupations
285
0.9
Total cultural occupations
20 373
67.7
Other occupations
9 713
32.3
Total occupations
30 086
100.0
Advertising services
Advertising specialists
2 328
8.4
Graphic designers
1 881
6.8
Media producers (excluding video)
973
3.5
Copywriters
510
1.8
Photographers
354
1.3
Graphic pre-press trades workers
223
0.8
Other cultural occupations
1 823
6.6
Total cultural occupations
8 092
29.3
Other occupations
19 555
70.7
Total occupations
27 647
100.0
Other specialised design services
Graphic designers
6 919
37.1
Signwriters
2 012
10.8
Interior designers
1 851
9.9
Graphic pre-press trades workers
218
1.2
Media producers (excluding video)
197
1.1
Illustrators
192
1.0
Other cultural occupations
1 518
8.1
Total cultural occupations
12 907
69.3
Other occupations
5 725
30.7
Total occupations
18 632
100.0

(a) Cells in this table have been randomly adjusted to avoid the release of confidential data.
(b) In their main job in the week before Census Night.
Source: ABS data available on request, Census of Population and Housing, 2006.



Work Survey

The 2007 Survey of Work in Selected Culture and Leisure Activities, which collected data on the design activities of architecture, graphic, fashion, advertising and other design activities, found that there were 459,200 people who had worked in design activities in the 12-months to April 2007. Of these, about two-thirds (61%) received some payment for their involvement.

The most common design activities undertaken were advertising (192,000 people) and graphic design (184,700 people). Both fashion design and advertising design activities involved more females than males.

15.4 PERSONS INVOLVED IN DESIGN, By selected characteristics - 12 months ending April 2007

Male
Female
Persons
'000
'000
'000

Involvement part of main job held last week(a)
157.3
123.8
281.1
Involvement not part of main job held last week(b)
84.9
93.2
178.1
Annual income from design activity(c)
Goods and services only
**4.2
**3.9
*8.0
Less than $5,000
37.5
49.6
87.1
$5,000 to $39,999
44.5
45.0
89.5
$40,000 or more
79.6
41.9
121.5
Type of design activity undertaken
Graphic design
99.6
85.1
184.7
Fashion design
*5.3
32.2
37.5
Architecture
47.2
18.8
66.0
Advertising
93.8
98.2
192.0
Other design activities
73.8
53.6
127.3
Total(d)
242.3
217.0
459.2

* estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution
** estimate has a relative standard error greater than 50% and is considered too unreliable for general use
(a) Main job held in the week prior to interview. If the person held multiple jobs during this week, main job refers to the job in which the most hours were worked.
(b) Excludes persons who were unemployed or not in the labour force.
(c) Excludes persons who did not state the amount of payment they received.
(d) Components may not add up to the total number of people undertaking design activities as some may have undertaken more than one design activity.
Source: ABS data available on request, Survey of Work in Selected Culture and Leisure Activities, 2007.





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