Profile of the construction industry workers

With the decline of the mining industry, many of the workers who lost their jobs in the mines turned to the construction industry because of the low barriers to entry and a relative employment security compared to mining jobs. Construction is now the first source of employment for male workers in Australia with 9 out of 10 construction workers being men. 

In 2018, there were 1.2 million people working in the construction industry in Australia. This is just under 10% of the total workforce. Between 2012 and 2018, the number of workers in the industry has increased by almost 20%. This number is expected to increase by another 10% between now and 2022, which is very encouraging for the future of the industry. 

Full-time employment in construction is better than in most industries  

Construction fares better than other industries when it comes to the number of workers working full time. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the national average across all industries is around 70% of full time workers. In the building industry, there are 85% of full time workers, which makes it the second best industry for full time employment after mining. This is quite impressive, in particular compared to the national average. 

However construction is also the industry with the most self-employed workers with 1 out of 3 construction workers being self-employed. Regarding weekly hours and earnings, full time construction workers work an average of 41 hours a week and they earn on average $1,250 per week before taxes.  

Trades and young workers are the most represented

Still according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the top 10 occupations in terms of people employed are carpenters, electricians, managers, plumbers, painters, labourers, plasterers, concreters, surveyors and plant operators. Together, they account for half of all the people working in the industry. Trade services represent 65% of the total number of people employed in the industry.

The building industry is also the first source of employment for young workers. 45% of the workers are 15 to 34 years old. 35% of the workers are 45 years old and older. Finally, only 20% of the workers are 35 to 44 years old. 
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In conclusion, construction is a fairly young industry that is dominated by male workers. It has the second greatest proportion of full time workers of all industries. The number of people employed has been increasing in the last few years and should keep increasing steadily in the next couple of years.