Source:  Australian Jobs 2015

With around 2.3 million people employed in Queensland, the sunshine state is responsible for 1 in 5 of Australia’s workers.  And, although Queensland is usually seen, alongside Western Australia, as the “mining state”, the largest employing industries are Heath Care, Retail Trade and Construction which collectively comprise around one third of the state’s total employment.

As is expected with a state the size of Queensland, employment is regionally diverse with about 40% of the state’s workers employed outside South East Queensland (ie Brisbane – Gold Coast area).

In the period November 2009-2014, Queensland has enjoyed a positive employment position with increases in 12 of the 19 Government defined industries.

Age Groups and Regions

A relatively high proportion of workers in Queensland are in the 15-24 year old age group which equates to 17% (compared to 15% nationally).  At the other end of the spectrum though the proportion of workers aged 45 years or older is similar to the national average.  The difference lies however across regions – as an example, one in five workers in Townsville is in the 15-24 year age group while close to 50% of the workers in Cairns are mature age (compared with just 36% in Brisbane).