2021 Census: Fewer Australians working 40 hours or more per week
2021 Census data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals insights into how many hours Australians worked in the week before the Census.
Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician said, “The Census data revealed that 38 per cent of Australians worked 40 hours or more, down from 45 per cent a decade ago.
“Of those working 40 hours or more, nearly all (86 per cent) did fewer than 15 hours of domestic work. However, a third (35 per cent) had childcare responsibilities and 11 per cent provided unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, health condition, or due to old age”.
The Northern Territory and Western Australia continued to report the highest proportion of people working 40 plus hours a week, at 44 per cent and 42 per cent. Tasmania reported the lowest proportion at 33 per cent.
The median hours worked by Australians remained unchanged at 38 hours. The Mining industry recorded the highest median at 48 hours and the Accommodation and Food industry the lowest at 20 hours.
The number of hours worked varied by occupation. “Interestingly, School Principals worked as many hours as Surgeons, with each recording a median of 50 hours per week,” Dr Gruen added.
While there are a lower proportion of people working very long hours, most people still work full-time. In the week before the Census, more than seven million people worked full-time, four million worked part-time and one million were away from work.
Employment type | Part-time | Full-time |
|---|---|---|
Total people | 4 million | 7 million |
Sex | Two in three are female (2.6 million) | Two in three are male (4.3 million) |
Study | 700,000 are undertaking full-time study, and a further 264,000 undertaking part-time study | 115,000 are undertaking full-time study, and a further 384,000 undertaking part-time study |
Unpaid childcare, including own children | One in three (1.3 million) | One in three (2.4 million) |
Domestic work (such as washing, gardening, shopping for groceries and meal preparation) | 10 per cent of part-time employed males undertook 15 or more hours of domestic work, compared to 32 per cent of part-time employed females. | 10 per cent of full-time employed males undertook 15 or more hours of domestic work, compared to 21 per cent of full-time employed females. |
Providing unpaid assistance to a person with a disability, a long-term health condition or due to old age | 530,000 (13 per cent)
| 770,000 (11 per cent)
|
Volunteering | 17 per cent | 14 per cent |
The 2021 Census counted 7,593 Australians who were undertaking paid employment, completing study, providing unpaid childcare, providing unpaid care to another person, completed 15 hours or more of domestic work and also volunteered.
| Person count 2021 | % of 15+ population |
|---|---|---|
Employed, full-time | 7,095,103 | 34.1% |
Employed, part-time | 3,962,550 | 19.1% |
Employed, away from work | 991,758 | 4.8% |
Employed Total | 12,049,410 | 58.0% |
Unemployed | 646,442 | 3.1% |
Not in the labour force | 6,888,081 | 33.1% |
Not Stated | 1,200,851 | 5.8% |
Total population (15+) | 20,784,787 | 100% |
Industry | Median hours worked (weekly) |
|---|---|
Mining | 48 |
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing | 40 |
Construction | 40 |
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services | 40 |
Financial and Insurance Services | 40 |
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services | 40 |
Wholesale Trade | 39 |
Information Media and Telecommunications | 38 |
Manufacturing | 38 |
Other Services | 38 |
Public Administration and Safety | 38 |
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services | 38 |
Transport, Postal and Warehousing | 38 |
Education and Training | 35 |
Health Care and Social Assistance | 32 |
Administrative and Support Services | 31 |
Arts and Recreation Services | 30 |
Retail Trade | 29 |
Accommodation and Food Services | 20 |
All Industries | 38 |
Occupation | Median hours worked (weekly) |
|---|---|
Mixed Crop and Livestock Farmers | 50 |
School Principals | 50 |
Surgeons | 50 |
Drillers, Miners and Shot Firers | 50 |
Chief Executives and Managing Directors | 45 |
Livestock Farmers | 45 |
| Full-time student | Part-time student |
|---|---|---|
Employed, worked full-time | 115,434 | 384,140 |
Employed, worked part-time | 699,768 | 263,522 |
Total | 815,203 | 647,661 |
| Employed, worked full-time | Employed, worked part-time | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
Nil hours | 1,521,666 | 908,725 | 2,430,391 |
Less than 5 hours | 1,842,974 | 879,697 | 2,722,671 |
5 to 14 hours | 2,694,535 | 1,194,280 | 3,888,815 |
15 to 29 hours | 760,514 | 602,844 | 1,363,361 |
30 hours or more | 245,448 | 359,415 | 604,864 |
Not stated | 29,962 | 17,585 | 47,551 |
Total | 7,095,103 | 3,962,550 | 11,057,653 |
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Ten years ago, 45 per cent of Australians were working 40 hours or more a week. The Census data released today has shown this has fallen to 38 per cent in 2021.
The median hours worked by Australians remained unchanged at 38 hours. Interestingly, School Principals worked as many hours as Surgeons, with each recording a median of 50 hours worked a week.
This Census counted 7,600 ‘super’ Australians who were working, studying, caring for others, doing more than 15 hours of domestic work and volunteering.
Media notes
- When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
- For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Media Team via media@abs.gov.au (8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri)
Search for 2021 Census data through the QuickStats tool.