Employment by status in Australia
Australia: Employment by status was 83.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
83.8%
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
47th
of 186 countries
All-time high
83.8%
in 2024
All-time low
78.0%
in 1993
Years of data
34
1991–2024
Employment by status in Australia, 1991–2024
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Australia recorded 83.8% for employment by status in 2024. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment by status in Australia peaked at 83.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 78.0%, in 1993.
Australia ranks 47th of 186 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Employment by status in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 78.1% | — |
| 1992 | 78.0% | -0.0% |
| 1993 | 78.0% | -0.0% |
| 1994 | 78.2% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 78.4% | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 78.5% | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 78.6% | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 78.9% | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 79.1% | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 79.3% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 79.6% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 79.8% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 80.9% | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 80.2% | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 81.2% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 81.3% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 83.0% | +2.1% |
| 2008 | 83.5% | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 82.6% | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 82.8% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 82.4% | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 83.3% | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 83.2% | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 83.4% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 83.4% | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 83.0% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 83.1% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 83.4% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 83.2% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 83.3% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 83.2% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 83.5% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 83.7% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 83.8% | +0.2% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 83.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 86.7%, 97% of the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Australia's 83.8% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 61.9%, 1.4× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 78.4% | 78.0% | 79.1% | 9 |
| 2000s | 81.1% | 79.3% | 83.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 83.1% | 82.4% | 83.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 83.5% | 83.2% | 83.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 44 Slovakia 85.1% compare
- 45 Guam 84.3% compare
- 46 Czechia 84.1% compare
- 48 North Macedonia 83.2% compare
- 49 Netherlands 83.2% compare
- 50 Switzerland 83.2% compare
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 employment by status in Australia?
- Employment by status in Australia was 83.8% in 2024, according to International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest employment by status recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 83.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest employment by status recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 78.0% in 1993.
- How does Australia rank for employment by status?
- Australia ranks 47th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is employment by status rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Employment by status. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of people in employment working as employees, as a percentage of total employment.