The table shows the proportion of workers employed in six sectors in Australia in the years 1989 and 2009.
Overall, the figures for manufacturing and retail experienced a decline, while those of the remaining sectors showed an upward trend.
In 1989, 15% and 11.8% people worked in the manufacturing and retail industries, respectively. Over the following two decades, the former’s rate dropped significantly to 9.8% in 2009. Meanwhile, there was a slight decrease to 10.1% in the retail industry.
By contrast, the other sectors exhibited an increase in employment. The healthcare industry started the period as the third largest employeer with 9.6%, after which this number grew gradually to 11.3%. As a result this sector surpassed the manufacturing and retail industries in terms of workforce rate. Turning to construction and education, they increased steadily from 7.6% and 6.8% in 1989 to 8.3% and 7.5% in 2009, respectively. Although the tourism sector saw consistent growth, increasing from 5.5% to 7.3%, it remained the lowest employeer in both years.
