EMPLOYMENT
Service Industry Surveys
The 2006–07 Television, Film and Video Production and Post-production Services survey (ABS 2008h) found that businesses involved in commercial free-to-air television services in Australia employed a total of 6,980 people in June 2007. A further 3,052 people were employed by subscription television broadcasters.
Census of Population and Housing
Neither the Television, Film and Video Production and Post-Production Services survey nor the ABC and SBS annual reports provide detailed breakdowns of the type of occupations in which people are involved in the radio and television industries. The 2006 Census of Population and Housing is the most detailed source of occupation information, although the data it collects relates only to a person’s main job (the job in which they worked the most hours in the week before Census Night). In August 2006, there were 12,646 people whose main job was in the free-to-air television broadcasting industry and 2,928 people in the cable and other subscription broadcasting industry. This includes people working in community television.
Over half the people employed in the free-to-air television broadcasting industry (62%) worked in cultural occupations as defined by the Australian Culture and Leisure Classifications (ABS 2008c). This is quite different to cable and other subscription broadcasting industry where just 19% were employed in cultural occupations.
17.2 PERSONS EMPLOYED IN TELEVISION BROADCASTING INDUSTRIES(a)(b), By occupation - August 2006 |
|
 | | | Number | % |
|
| | |
| Free-to-air television broadcasting | | |
| | Media producers (excluding video) | 1 236 | 9.8 |
| | Television journalists | 928 | 7.3 |
| | Camera operators (film, TV and radio) | 628 | 5.0 |
| | Film and video editors | 592 | 4.7 |
| | Program directors (TV or radio) | 388 | 3.1 |
| | Production assistants (film, TV, radio or stage) | 361 | 2.9 |
| | Other cultural occupations | 3 680 | 29.1 |
| | Total cultural occupations | 7 813 | 61.8 |
| | Other occupations | 4 833 | 38.2 |
| | Total occupations | 12 646 | 100.0 |
| Cable and other subscription broadcasting | | |
| | Media producers (excluding video) | 123 | 4.2 |
| | Film and video editors | 51 | 1.7 |
| | Broadcast transmitter operators | 43 | 1.5 |
| | Program directors (TV or radio) | 38 | 1.3 |
| | Television journalists | 32 | 1.1 |
| | Directors (film, TV, radio or stage) | 31 | 1.1 |
| | Other cultural occupations | 238 | 8.1 |
| | Total cultural occupations | 556 | 19.0 |
| | Other occupations | 2 372 | 81.0 |
| | Total occupations | 2 928 | 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. |
The 2006 Census of Population and Housing found that there were 5,226 people whose main job was in the radio broadcasting industry. Unlike the free-to-air television broadcasting industry, just over half (52%) of people working in the radio broadcasting industry in their main job worked in a non-cultural occupation.
17.3 PERSONS EMPLOYED IN RADIO BROADCASTING(a)(b), By occupation - August 2006 |
|
| | Number | % |
|
| Cultural occupations | | |
| Radio presenters | 974 | 18.6 |
| Program directors (TV or radio) | 439 | 8.4 |
| Radio journalists | 365 | 7.0 |
| Advertising specialists | 81 | 1.5 |
| Sound technicians | 69 | 1.3 |
| Copywriters | 58 | 1.1 |
| Other cultural occupations | 509 | 9.7 |
| Total cultural occupations | 2 495 | 47.7 |
| Other occupations | 2 731 | 52.3 |
| Total occupations | 5 226 | 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
As data from the 2006 Census of Population and Housing relates only to a person's main job during a one week period in August, it may not capture those people who are involved in a less regular or voluntary capacity. The ABS (2007b) publication
Work in Selected Culture and Leisure Activities, 2007 (cat. no. 6281.0) provides some indication of total involvement over a 12 month period. The survey found that 77,000 people were involved in television broadcasting and 105,500 were involved in radio broadcasting over a 12 month period to April 2007. The majority of those involved in radio (76%) were unpaid while fewer were unpaid in television (44%).
17.4 Persons involved in broadcasting, By payment status - 12 months ending April 2007 |
|
| Television | Radio | Total(a) |
NUMBER ('000) |
|
| Some paid involvement | 43.4 | 24.8 | 63.4 |
| Unpaid involvement only | 33.6 | 80.6 | 101.2 |
| Total(b) | 77.0 | 105.5 | 162.9 |
PER CENT (%) |
|
| Some paid involvement | 56.4 | 23.5 | 38.9 |
| Unpaid involvement | 43.6 | 76.4 | 62.1 |
| Total | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
|
| (a) Components may not add up to totals as some persons were involved in more than one activity. |
| (b) Excludes some people whose payment details are not known. |
| Source: ABS data available on request, Survey of Work in Selected Culture and Leisure Activities, April 2007. |
Print Page
Print All