Band 7+: The table below gives information about the percentage of workforce employed in six industries in Australia between 1989 and 2009. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The table illustrates how Australian workforce was distributed into six industries from 1989 and 2009.

Overall, there was a decline in the proportion of labour force working in manufacturing and retail, while the opposite trend was true for the three remaining industries. In addition, the percentage of manufacturing employees in the workforce initially had the highest figure, before being surpassed in the final year.

The share of manufacturing workers in Australian labour force started at 15%, after which it saw a significant decline to 9.8% in 2009. A similar change, but lesser extent, was seen at the figure for the retail industry, standing at 11.8% in 1989 and dipping to 10.1% in the next 20 years.

9.6% was the proportion of workforce engaging in health care in 1989, with a subsequent rise to reach the highest figure in 2009, making up 11.3%. Similarly, the figure for construction, education and tourism grew slightly from 7.6%, 6.8% and 5% to 8.3%, 7.5% and 7.3% respectively.