What is an industry?

‘Industry’ refers to the goods or services that a company or employer mainly produces.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has a list of 19 broad industries. These are created by grouping together sectors that produce similar types of products or provide similar services.

The Australian Government uses this list to collect and provide information on things like:

• whether different industries are growing or shrinking
• how many workers are employed in each industry
• demographics such as gender and age.

You can find out more about the 19 broad industries on the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations' Labour Market Insights.

How are ‘industries’ different from ‘occupations’?

‘Occupation’ is the type of work a person does. Every industry employs people from a range of different occupations. For example, the Health Care and Social Assistance industry employs a range of occupations such as midwives, child carers, counsellors, and dietitians, as well as people in planning, administrative support, and a range of other roles.