Public sector employment in Australia
Australia: Public sector employment was 3,678 in 2021. ▲ Rising
Public sector employment in Australia, 2001–2021
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
Australia recorded 3,678 for public sector employment in 2021. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.7% on the previous year and up 25.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public sector employment in Australia peaked at 3,678 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 2,089, in 2001.
That places Australia 8th out of 42 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Public sector employment in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 2,089 | — |
| 2002 | 2,241 | +7.3% |
| 2003 | 2,363 | +5.5% |
| 2004 | 2,377 | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 2,502 | +5.2% |
| 2006 | 2,630 | +5.1% |
| 2007 | 2,604 | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 2,843 | +9.2% |
| 2009 | 2,986 | +5.0% |
| 2010 | 3,184 | +6.6% |
| 2011 | 2,936 | -7.8% |
| 2012 | 3,082 | +5.0% |
| 2013 | 3,106 | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 3,147 | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 3,252 | +3.3% |
| 2016 | 3,311 | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 3,363 | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 3,469 | +3.1% |
| 2019 | 3,672 | +5.9% |
| 2020 | 3,581 | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 3,678 | +2.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2,515 | 2,089 | 2,986 | 9 |
| 2010s | 3,252 | 2,936 | 3,672 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3,629 | 3,581 | 3,678 | 2 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More work & labour data for Australia
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.5057 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.4907 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.5202 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.9895 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.8931 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 30,186 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 3,001 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 21,642 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 21,502 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 43,144 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public sector employment in Australia?
- Public sector employment in Australia was 3,678 in 2021, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest public sector employment recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 3,678 in 2021.
- What is the lowest public sector employment recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,089 in 2001.
- How does Australia rank for public sector employment?
- Australia ranks 8th out of 42 countries with data for 2021.
- Is public sector employment rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Public sector employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).
About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. The employed comprise all persons of working age who, during a specified brief period, were in one of the following categories: a) paid employment (whether at work or with a job but not at work); or b) self-employment (whether at work or with an enterprise but not at work). For more information, refer to the Worker and Sector Profiles (PROF) database description.