Tourism Satellite Accounts: quarterly tourism labour statistics, Australia, experimental estimates

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Experimental estimates of quarterly tourism employment and jobs to help explain the impacts of COVID-19 on tourism activity.

Reference period

March 2022

Released

23/06/2022

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Key statistics

In March quarter 2022, there were 645,000 tourism jobs: This was:

15,100 (2.4%) more jobs than December quarter 2021
22,500 (3.6%) more jobs than March quarter 2021
1 in 23 (4.4%) filled jobs in the economy

Overview

Change in number and percentage of jobs, original series
	Mar-22	Quarterly change	Quarterly change (%)	Annual change	Annual change (%)
Tourism jobs	645,000	15,100	2.4	22,500	3.6
Economy-wide jobs	14,635,900	-7,600	-0.1	407,200	2.9

Filled jobs

All references to "jobs" are referring to "filled jobs" unless otherwise specified. For information on the various measures of jobs (filled job, Labour Account main job and Labour Account secondary job), please refer to the Glossary in Methodology.

Percentage change in tourism jobs, original series
Quarter	Quarterly change	Through the year
Mar-17	1.7	4.6
Jun-17	-0.8	3.6
Sep-17	4.3	7.4
Dec-17	3.3	8.7
Mar-18	-2.1	4.6
Jun-18	-0.8	4.6
Sep-18	2.2	2.5
Dec-18	1.3	0.6
Mar-19	-1.1	1.6
Jun-19	-0.8	1.6
Sep-19	3.9	3.3
Dec-19	4.1	6.1
Mar-20	-5.0	2.0
Jun-20	-12.2	-9.8
Sep-20	0.4	-12.8
Dec-20	0.1	-16.2
Mar-21	-0.9	-12.6
Jun-21	-2.2	-2.6
Sep-21	-9.0	-11.8
Dec-21	13.7	0.3
Mar-22	2.4	3.6

Percentage change in tourism jobs, original series

["Quarter","Quarterly change","Through the year"]

[["Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22"],[[1.7],[-0.80000000000000004],[4.2999999999999998],[3.2999999999999998],[-2.1000000000000001],[-0.80000000000000004],[2.2000000000000002],[1.3],[-1.1000000000000001],[-0.80000000000000004],[3.8999999999999999],[4.0999999999999996],[-5],[-12.199999999999999],[0.40000000000000002],[0.10000000000000001],[-0.90000000000000002],[-2.2000000000000002],[-9],[13.699999999999999],[2.3999999999999999]],[[4.5999999999999996],[3.6000000000000001],[7.4000000000000004],[8.6999999999999993],[4.5999999999999996],[4.5999999999999996],[2.5],[0.59999999999999998],[1.6000000000000001],[1.6000000000000001],[3.2999999999999998],[6.0999999999999996],[2],[-9.8000000000000007],[-12.800000000000001],[-16.199999999999999],[-12.6],[-2.6000000000000001],[-11.800000000000001],[0.29999999999999999],[3.6000000000000001]]]

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Key COVID-19 dates

2021

January-March: Alternation between re-impositions and easing of restrictions for various local government areas affected by local outbreaks in New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria, and closing and reopening of various State and Territory borders. Continuation of the one-way quarantine-free travel bubble for travellers flying into Australia from New Zealand. Some temporary suspensions were put in place during the quarter due to localised COVID-19 outbreaks
11 March: Prime Minister announced the $1.2 billion Tourism Aviation Network Support package
28 March: JobKeeper program ended
19 April: 2-way Australia/New Zealand travel bubble commenced
From late April: State border and COVID-19 restrictions were frequently reviewed and updated to contain COVID-19 outbreaks in New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory and Victoria
Late May-June: Temporary disruption to quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia
23 July: The New Zealand and Australian travel bubble was suspended
July-September: COVID-19 Delta strain outbreaks in New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory resulted in state/territory lockdowns for most of the September quarter 2021. Other jurisdictions closed interstate borders to these affected areas
Victoria, Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales Greater Sydney lockdown ended mid October 2021
Majority of state borders opened to fully vaccinated travellers in the December quarter 2021
Australia opened international borders on 1 November 2021 for fully vaccinated overseas travellers with no quarantine requirement for some states

2022

January-February: COVID-19 Omicron variant outbreak in various states resulted in tighter restrictions for people located in hotspot locations
15 January: Queensland's state border opened to all domestic travellers, and COVID-19 restrictions were lifted
21 February: Australia opened its international borders for fully vaccinated non-resident travellers
3 March: Western Australia opened its state border allowing fully vaccinated travellers to enter the state without quarantine

Tourism industry

Change in number and percentage of jobs by industry, original series
	Mar-22	Quarterly change	Quarterly change (%)	Annual change	Annual change (%)
Accommodation	101,600	8,500	9.1	20,700	25.6
Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services	232,200	1,500	0.7	4,400	1.9
Clubs, pubs, taverns and bars	57,800	-800	-1.4	1,100	1.9
Rail transport	2,100	-	-	100	5.0
Road transport and transport equipment rental	7,500	100	1.4	400	5.6
Air, water and other transport	27,800	3,300	13.5	3,100	12.6
Travel agency and information centre services	36,300	600	1.7	1,900	5.5
Cultural services	9,300	-1,000	-9.7	-1,300	-12.3
Casinos and other gambling services	3,700	-100	-2.6	100	2.8
Sports and recreation services	32,400	500	1.6	1,700	5.5
Retail trade	104,500	-2,700	-2.5	700	0.7
Education and training	5,300	5,100	n.p.	-10,800	-67.1
All other industries	24,600	-	-	500	2.1

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

n.p. not publishable

During this quarter, industries with the largest quarterly changes were:

accommodation: 8,500 jobs (9.1%)
education: 5,100 jobs (up from 200 jobs last quarter)
air, water and other transport: 3,300 jobs (13.5%)
retail trade: -2,700 jobs (-2.5%)
cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services: 1,500 jobs (0.7%)

Comparing March quarter 2021 with March quarter 2022, industries with the largest changes were:

accommodation: 20,700 jobs (25.6%)
education and training: -10,800 jobs (-67.1%)
cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services: 4,400 jobs (1.9%)
air, water and other transport: 3,100 jobs (12.6%)

Employment status

Change in number and percentage of jobs by employment status, original series
	Mar-22	Quarterly change	Quarterly change (%)	Annual change	Annual change (%)
Full-time	318,700	11,400	3.7	17,600	5.8
Part-time	326,300	3,700	1.1	4,900	1.5

During this quarter:

full-time jobs increased 3.7% while part-time jobs increased 1.1%

Between March quarter 2021 and March quarter 2022:

full-time jobs increased 5.8% while part-time jobs increased 1.5%

Tourism jobs ('000) by employment status
Quarter	Full-time	Part-time
Mar-17	332.5	324.9
Jun-17	331.7	320.8
Sep-17	344.6	335.6
Dec-17	352.7	349.7
Mar-18	356.4	331.2
Jun-18	336.6	345.7
Sep-18	347.1	350.0
Dec-18	356.5	350.0
Mar-19	357.5	340.9
Jun-19	340.1	352.9
Sep-19	356.9	363.2
Dec-19	376.0	373.3
Mar-20	359.4	353.0
Jun-20	333.7	291.6
Sep-20	298.4	329.5
Dec-20	294.1	334.2
Mar-21	301.1	321.4
Jun-21	285.4	323.5
Sep-21	259.9	294.0
Dec-21	307.3	322.6
Mar-22	318.7	326.3

Tourism jobs ('000) by employment status

["Quarter","Full-time","Part-time"]

[["Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22"],[[332.5],[331.69999999999999],[344.60000000000002],[352.69999999999999],[356.39999999999998],[336.60000000000002],[347.10000000000002],[356.5],[357.5],[340.10000000000002],[356.89999999999998],[376],[359.39999999999998],[333.69999999999999],[298.39999999999998],[294.10000000000002],[301.10000000000002],[285.39999999999998],[259.89999999999998],[307.30000000000001],[318.69999999999999]],[[324.89999999999998],[320.80000000000001],[335.60000000000002],[349.69999999999999],[331.19999999999999],[345.69999999999999],[350],[350],[340.89999999999998],[352.89999999999998],[363.19999999999999],[373.30000000000001],[353],[291.60000000000002],[329.5],[334.19999999999999],[321.39999999999998],[323.5],[294],[322.60000000000002],[326.30000000000001]]]

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Sex

Change in number and percentage of jobs by sex, original series
	Mar-22	Quarterly change	Quarterly change (%)	Annual change	Annual change (%)
Male	290,300	600	0.2	-4,100	-1.4
Female	354,700	14,500	4.3	26,600	8.1

During this quarter:

jobs worked by females increased 4.3% while jobs worked by males increased 0.2%

From March quarter 2021 to March quarter 2022:

jobs worked by females increased 8.1% while jobs worked by males decreased 1.4%

Tourism jobs ('000) by sex
Quarter	Male	Female
Mar-17	293.3	364.2
Jun-17	288.3	364.1
Sep-17	297.8	382.4
Dec-17	305.2	397.3
Mar-18	297.2	390.5
Jun-18	302.0	380.4
Sep-18	314.1	383.0
Dec-18	314.1	392.4
Mar-19	311.3	387.1
Jun-19	307.5	385.5
Sep-19	314.0	406.2
Dec-19	325.5	423.8
Mar-20	311.6	400.7
Jun-20	284.6	340.6
Sep-20	286.0	341.8
Dec-20	290.5	337.9
Mar-21	294.4	328.1
Jun-21	281.1	327.7
Sep-21	263.4	290.5
Dec-21	289.7	340.2
Mar-22	290.3	354.7

Tourism jobs ('000) by sex

["Quarter","Male","Female"]

[["Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22"],[[293.30000000000001],[288.30000000000001],[297.80000000000001],[305.19999999999999],[297.19999999999999],[302],[314.10000000000002],[314.10000000000002],[311.30000000000001],[307.5],[314],[325.5],[311.60000000000002],[284.60000000000002],[286],[290.5],[294.39999999999998],[281.10000000000002],[263.39999999999998],[289.69999999999999],[290.30000000000001]],[[364.19999999999999],[364.10000000000002],[382.39999999999998],[397.30000000000001],[390.5],[380.39999999999998],[383],[392.39999999999998],[387.10000000000002],[385.5],[406.19999999999999],[423.80000000000001],[400.69999999999999],[340.60000000000002],[341.80000000000001],[337.89999999999998],[328.10000000000002],[327.69999999999999],[290.5],[340.19999999999999],[354.69999999999999]]]

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Sex by employment status

Change in number and percentage of jobs by sex by employment status, original series
		Quarterly change	Quarterly change (%)	Annual change	Annual change (%)
Male	Part-time	-2,400	-1.6	-4,600	-3.1
	Full-time	2,900	2.0	500	0.3
Female	Part-time	6,000	3.4	9,500	5.5
	Full-time	8,400	5.1	17,100	11.0

During this quarter:

female jobs increased in both full-time and part-time jobs
male full-time jobs increased while male part-time jobs decreased

From March quarter 2021 to March quarter 2022:

female jobs increased in both full-time and part-time jobs
male full-time jobs increased while male part-time jobs decreased

Measuring the impacts of COVID-19 on tourism activity

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an impact on the Australian tourism sector. This section looks at how tourism has been impacted over the period by comparing estimates of tourism jobs at the end of December 2019 with those in the current quarter. The key points are:

Tourism jobs peaked at 749,400 in December 2019, and in March quarter 2022 is now at its highest level (645,000) since the pandemic started
This represents -13.9% (-104,400) less tourism jobs, compared to 2.2% (312,900) more jobs in the whole economy as at the end of this quarter

Tourism jobs ('000), original series
Quarter	Tourism jobs	Whole economy
Mar-17	657.5	13,220.3
Jun-17	652.4	13,348.4
Sep-17	680.2	13,478.4
Dec-17	702.4	13,678
Mar-18	687.6	13,655.3
Jun-18	682.3	13,755
Sep-18	697.1	13,801.1
Dec-18	706.5	14,072.3
Mar-19	698.4	14,013.5
Jun-19	693	14,063
Sep-19	720.1	14,158.1
Dec-19	749.4	14,323
Mar-20	712.3	14,212.2
Jun-20	625.2	13,348.1
Sep-20	627.9	13,650.5
Dec-20	628.3	14,172.2
Mar-21	622.5	14,228.7
Jun-21	608.9	14,363.1
Sep-21	553.9	13,967
Dec-21	629.9	14,643.5
Mar-22	645	14,635.9

Tourism jobs ('000), original series

["Quarter","Tourism jobs","Whole economy"]

[["Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22"],[[657.5],[652.39999999999998],[680.20000000000005],[702.39999999999998],[687.60000000000002],[682.29999999999995],[697.10000000000002],[706.5],[698.39999999999998],[693],[720.10000000000002],[749.39999999999998],[712.29999999999995],[625.20000000000005],[627.89999999999998],[628.29999999999995],[622.5],[608.89999999999998],[553.89999999999998],[629.89999999999998],[645]],[[13220.299999999999],[13348.4],[13478.4],[13678],[13655.299999999999],[13755],[13801.1],[14072.299999999999],[14013.5],[14063],[14158.1],[14323],[14212.200000000001],[13348.1],[13650.5],[14172.200000000001],[14228.700000000001],[14363.1],[13967],[14643.5],[14635.9]]]

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Change in tourism jobs ('000) by industry since December quarter 2019
	Change ('000)
All other industries	0.7
Accommodation	0.7
Rail transport	0.1
Road transport and transport equipment rental	0.1
Casinos and other gambling services	-0.3
Travel agency and information centre services	-1.3
Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services	-1.6
Clubs, pubs, taverns and bars	-1.6
Cultural services	-3.4
Sports and recreation services	-3.7
Air, water and other transport	-7.0
Retail trade	-17.3
Education and training	-69.7

Change in tourism jobs ('000) by industry since December quarter 2019

["","Change ('000)"]

[["All other industries","Accommodation","Rail transport","Road transport and transport equipment rental","Casinos and other gambling services","Travel agency and information centre services","Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services ","Clubs, pubs, taverns and bars","Cultural services","Sports and recreation services","Air, water and other transport ","Retail trade","Education and training"],[[0.69999999999999996],[0.69999999999999996],[0.10000000000000001],[0.10000000000000001],[-0.29999999999999999],[-1.3],[-1.6000000000000001],[-1.6000000000000001],[-3.3999999999999999],[-3.7000000000000002],[-7],[-17.300000000000001],[-69.700000000000003]]]

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Related release

Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account (previously used cat. no. 5249.0)

The 2020-21 issue of Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account was released on 10 December 2021. Users are reminded that the estimates in this quarterly release are based on a different data source and are not directly comparable to the estimates provided in the annual TSA publication. For more information on the strengths and differences between the two employment measures, please refer to the article published in March quarter 2020.

Feedback

This new TSA publication contains experimental estimates of quarterly tourism labour statistics. The ABS welcomes comments and suggestions from users regarding this release. If you are interested in contributing, please contact the Customer Assistance Service via the ABS website Contact Us page.

For inquiries about these and related statistics, contact the Customer Assistance Service via the ABS website Contact Us page. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to us.

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Data cubes

Data files

Tourism filled jobs
Download xlsx [111.32 KB]
Tourism main jobs
Download xlsx [110.59 KB]
Tourism employed persons
Download xlsx [82.66 KB]

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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 5249.0.55.005.

Methodology

Tourism Satellite Accounts: quarterly tourism labour statistics, Australia, experimental estimates methodology, March 2022

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APA

Citation

Tourism Satellite Accounts: quarterly tourism labour statistics, Australia, experimental estimates

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Citation

Key statistics

Overview

Filled jobs

Key COVID-19 dates

Tourism industry

Employment status

Sex

Sex by employment status

Measuring the impacts of COVID-19 on tourism activity

Related release

Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account (previously used cat. no. 5249.0)

Feedback

Data downloads

Data cubes

Tourism filled jobs

Tourism main jobs

Tourism employed persons

Create your own tables and visualisations

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Do you need more detailed statistics?

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Microdata and TableBuilder

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