Workforce employment percentages across six Australian industries from 1989 to 2009

The table illustrates the shifts in the percentage of the workforce employed across six distinct industries in Australia between 1989 and 2009. Overall, it is evident that manufacturing and retail saw a reduction in their share of the workforce, whereas health care, construction, education, and tourism all recorded growth.

In 1989, manufacturing was the leading employer at 15%, followed by retail at 11.8%. By 2009, however, both sectors experienced a downward trend, with manufacturing dropping significantly to 9.8% and retail decreasing to 10.1%. Despite this decline, retail remained the largest employer among the six categories in 2009.

Conversely, the remaining four industries showed an upward trajectory. Health care, which employed 9.6% of the workforce in 1989, became the most prominent sector by 2009, rising to 11.3%. Similarly, the construction industry grew from 7.6% to 8.3%. Education and tourism also saw modest gains, increasing from 6.8% to 7.5% and from 5.5% to 7.3%, respectively. By the end of the period, the gap between the highest and lowest employing industries had narrowed, reflecting a more balanced distribution of the workforce across these sectors.