Hours worked shows the distribution of employment hours for Australia's residents. Full-time employment is considered 35-hours and over.
The hours worked by employed people in Australia depends on a number of factors:
- The availability and take-up of part-time work;
- The industry sector in which they work;
- The occupation level and requirement or opportunity to work overtime, and;
- The age structure and household structure of the working population.
Hours worked statistics should be viewed in conjunction with Age structure Occupations, and Income to provide more insight into the observations made.
Data source
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) – Census 2016 and 2021 – by usual residence
Current area:
Select industry:
Current benchmark:
Sex:
| Resident workers hours worked | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia - All industries | 2021 | 2016 | Change | ||||||
| Hours worked | Number | % | Australia BM% | Number | % | Australia BM% | 2016 - 2021 | ||
| None | 787,387 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 369,182 | 3.5 | 3.5 | +418,205 | ||
| 1 hour - 15 hours | 1,358,941 | 11.3 | 11.3 | 1,218,826 | 11.4 | 11.4 | +140,115 | ||
| 16 hours - 24 hours | 1,236,652 | 10.3 | 10.3 | 1,079,234 | 10.1 | 10.1 | +157,418 | ||
| 25 hours - 34 hours | 1,366,960 | 11.3 | 11.3 | 1,193,437 | 11.2 | 11.2 | +173,523 | ||
| 35 hours - 39 hours | 2,487,054 | 20.6 | 20.6 | 2,031,263 | 19.0 | 19.0 | +455,791 | ||
| 40 hours | 2,139,089 | 17.8 | 17.8 | 1,994,234 | 18.7 | 18.7 | +144,855 | ||
| 41 hours - 48 hours | 980,619 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 989,470 | 9.3 | 9.3 | -8,851 | ||
| 49 hours or more | 1,488,331 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 1,608,089 | 15.1 | 15.1 | -119,758 | ||
| Not stated | 204,380 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 200,084 | 1.9 | 1.9 | +4,296 | ||
| Total Persons | 12,049,413 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 10,683,819 | 100.0 | 100.0 | +1,365,594 | ||
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016 and2021. Compiled and presented by .id (informed decisions) Please refer to specific data notes for more information | |||||||||
Dominant groups
Analysis of the hours worked by Australia's resident workers in 2021 compared to Australia BM shows that there was a lower proportion of people who worked part-time (34 hours or less) and a lower proportion of people worked full-time (35 hours or more).
Overall, 39.4% of the resident workers in All industries worked part-time (34 hours or less), and 58.9% worked full-time (35 hours or more), compared with 39.4% and 58.9% respectively for Australia BM.
The major differences between the hours worked by the resident workers (All industries) of Australia and Australia BM were:
- A smaller percentage of resident workers worked 41 hours - 48 hours (8.1% compared to 8.1%)
- A smaller percentage of resident workers worked 49 hours or more (12.4% compared to 12.4%)
- A smaller percentage of resident workers worked Not stated (1.7% compared to 1.7%)
- A smaller percentage of resident workers worked Total [genders] (100.0% compared to 100.0%)
Emerging groups
The number of the resident workers (All industries) working full-time (35 hours or more) in Australia increased by 472037 people (7.1%).
The largest changes in hours worked by the resident workers (All industries) in Australia between2016 and 2021 were:
- 35 hours - 39 hours (+455,791 persons)
- None (+418,205 persons)
- 25 hours - 34 hours (+173,523 persons)
- 16 hours - 24 hours (+157,418 persons)