CHANGES IN THE VICTORIAN ENGINEERING LABOUR MARKET

November 2012

KEY POINTS
This Note examines the main changes that have occurred in the Victorian engineering labour
market between 2006 and 2011. The statistics used are from the ABS censuses in those years
extracted using the ABS on-line TableBuilder Pro facility.
The labour force participation of engineers in Victoria was slightly lower than at the national level
with a 2011 participation rate of 81.6%. In contrast, in Western Australia, a State particularly
subject to skill shortage pressures, labour force participation was 86.1%.
The supply of engineers increased by 16,449 or 29.2% between 2006 and 2011 to 72,777. This
change was equivalent to annual compound growth of 5.3%, below the national growth rate of
5.6%. The supply increase in Victoria was 26.0% of the national increase and while annual growth
was lower in Victoria than the boom States of Western Australia and Queensland, the numerical
increase in Victoria was the largest in Australia.
The proportion of engineers who are women increased in Victoria to 12.9%, well above the
national figure of 11.8%.
Just over one quarter of the States increased supply of engineers was from Australian born
sources and just under three quarters were from overseas born sources, a pattern that was
Australia wide. In 2006, Australian born engineers were 51.6% of the States supply of engineers
and these changes reduced this share to 46.1% in 2011.
The demand for engineers in Victoria increased by 15,495 to 69,872 in 2011, equivalent to
compound annual growth of 5.1%, slightly lower than the growth in supply. The distribution of
employment between full and part time work in Victoria was similar to the national pattern. In 2011,
87.4% of men and 71.7% of women worked full time and 12.6% of men and 28.3% of women
worked part time. Despite the high proportion of women employed part time, numerically almost
four times as many men as women were part time.
With demand growth slightly less than supply growth, unemployment of engineers increased from
3.5% in 2006 to 4.0% in 2011. Unemployment was higher for women than men and higher for
overseas born engineers than Australian born engineers. Both the 2006 and 2011 unemployment
rates for Australian born engineers were consistent with frictional unemployment but this was not

the case for overseas born engineers for whom unemployment rates were higher and symptomatic
of wider problems.
The proportion of the Victorian supply of engineers employed in engineering work is below national
benchmarks and was stable between 2006 and 2011 at 58.3%. In contrast the 2011 figure in
Western Australia was 69.5%.
Engineers are employed in every industry but five industries accounted for over two-thirds of the
States increase in the employment of engineers. These included engineering consulting (28.5% of
State increase), manufacturing (9.7% of State increase), the transport, postal and warehousing
industry (11.1% of the States increase), the construction industry (10.8% of the States increase)
and the electricity, water, gas and waste utilities (6.0% of the State increase). Other industry
employment changes were much smaller and widely distributed.

BACKGROUND
Statistics on trends in the engineering labour markets in the States and Territories are limited and
detailed statistics are simply unavailable, except for the ABS census. In 2011, a series of limited
statistics from the 2006 census were released as complements to that years Statistical Overview1
and earlier this year a Policy Note was released on State engineering labour markets drawing on
statistics from the ABS survey of education and work2.
The ABS has now made available the necessary statistics from the 2011 census and comparisons
between these statistics and corresponding ones from the 2006 census can yield up to date
information on the major changes in State and Territory engineering labour markets and the
relationship between these changes and national ones. This Policy Note considers changes in the
Victorian engineering labour market.
KEY STATISTICS
A substantial part of the discussion is based on the statistics in Table 1. The Table includes
statistics on all major labour force variables as well as the engineering population in Victoria for the
2006 and 2011 population censuses. The statistics are defined to be consistent with Engineers
Australias view on qualifications essential for membership of the engineering team; that is, at least
an Advanced Diploma or Associate Degree in engineering. In the framework used, the engineering
population is the segment of the Australian population that is qualified in engineering. Conventional
ABS definitions for labour force status and other labour market variables are used. The Table
covers both men and women and distinguishes between people born in Australia and born
overseas. Although the stock of overseas born engineers includes people who arrived in Australia
many years ago, and possibly as children, almost all the change in this segment between 2006

www.engineersaustralia.org.au, The Engineering Profession; A Statistical Overview, Eighth Edition, 2011: See also The
Engineering Profession, A Statistical Overview Western Australia 2011 and the corresponding publications for other
States and Territories on the same web site.
2
www.engineersaustralia.org.au State Engineering Labour Markets in 2012, September 2012
page 2

and 2011 can be attributed to recent skilled migration. Comparative national statistics are
contained in a separate Policy Note3.

Table 1: The Victorian Engineering Labour Markets in the 2006 and 2011 Censuses
2006 Census
Labour force
status
Employed FT
Employed PT
Employed away
TOTAL EMPLOYED
Unemployed (FT)
Unemployed (PT)
TOTAL UNEMPLOYED
LABOUR FORCE
Not in labour force
ENGINEERING POPULATION

Australian Born
Men Women Total
22186 1869 24055
2536
610
3146
1100
187
1287
25822 2666 28488
407
50
457
107
22
129
514
72
586
26336 2738 29074
5069
626
5695
31405 3364 34769

Overseas Born
Men Women Total
18673 2532 21205
2774
908
3682
827
175
1002
22274 3615 25889
813
152
965
267
133
400
1080
285
1365
23354 3900 27254
5082
1591
6673
28436 5491 33927

Engineering Team
Men Women Total
40859 4401 45260
5310
1518
6828
1927
362
2289
48096 6281 54377
1220
202
1422
374
155
529
1594
357
1951
49690 6638 56328
10151 2217 12368
59841 8855 68696

Participation Rate (%)

Unemployment Rate (%)
Employed in Engineering
% in Engineering

83.9
2.0
17720
67.3

81.4
2.6
1532
56.0

83.6
2.0
19252
66.2

82.1
4.6
12105
51.8

71.0
7.3
1479
37.9

80.3
5.0
13584
49.8

83.0
3.2
29825
60.0

75.0
5.4
3011
45.4

82.0
3.5
32836
58.3

2011 Census
Employed FT
Employed PT
Employed away
TOTAL EMPLOYED
Unemployed (FT)
Unemployed (PT)
TOTAL UNEMPLOYED
LABOUR FORCE
Not in labour force
ENGINEERING POPULATION

25061
3261
1180
29502
591
137
728
30230
6248
36478

2020
915
258
3193
55
41
96
3289
768
4057

27081
4176
1438
32695
646
178
824
33519
7016
40535

26326
4149
1053
31528
1208
394
1602
33130
6918
40048

3929
1437
283
5649
305
174
479
6128
2486
8614

30255
5586
1336
37177
1513
568
2081
39258
9404
48662

51387
7410
2233
61030
1799
531
2330
63360
13166
76526

5949
2352
541
8842
360
215
575
9417
3254
12671

57336
9762
2774
69872
2159
746
2905
72777
16420
89197

71.1
7.8
2627
42.9

80.7
5.3
20075
51.1

82.8
3.7
37879
59.8

74.3
6.1
4550
48.3

81.6
4.0
42429
58.3

Participation Rate (%)

82.9
81.1
82.7
82.7
Unemployment Rate (%)
2.4
2.9
2.5
4.8
Employed in Engineering
20431 1923 22354 17448
% in Engineering
67.6
58.5
66.7
52.7
Source: Compiled using the ABS TableBuilder Pro Facility

THE SUPPLY OF ENGINEERS

The supply of engineers is the number of engineers actively participating in the labour market. It
comprises the sum of engineers who are employed and engineers who are unemployed and
actively seeking work. The supply of engineers is related to the engineering population by the
participation rate. In 2006, Victorias engineering participation rate was 82.0%, slightly higher than
the national rate of 81.7%. Both rates were relatively stable over time and in 2011, the Victoria rate
was 81.6% compared to 81.8%. The stability in these rates contrasts with the higher level of, and
increase in, participation in WA from 84.3% in 2006 to 86.1 in 2011.
The supply of engineers in Victoria increased from 56,328 in 2006 to 72,777 in 2011, an increase
of 16,449 or 29.2%. This change was 26.0% of the increase in the national supply of engineers
3

www.engineersaustralia.org.au, How the Australian Engineering Labour Market Has Changed: A Comparison of 2006
and 2011 Census Statistics, 14 November 2012
page 3

and was equivalent to annual compound growth of 5.3%, below national growth of 5.6% per
annum. In comparison, the fastest growth in the supply of engineers occurred in Western Australia
with compound 9.1% per annum and in Queensland with compound 7.1% per annum.
In 2006, there were 6,638 women engineers, 11.8% of the States supply of engineers. Growth
over the five years to 2011 was strong increasing numbers to 9,417 or 12.9% of the States supply.
In both years there were proportionally more women engineers in Victoria than at the national level
where the corresponding shares were 10.6% and 11.8%, respectively.

Figure 2: The Sources of Change in Victoria's Supply of Engineers

Australian born men

Australian born women

Overseas born men

Overseas born women

14%
24%

3%

59%

The sources of the increase in Victorias supply of engineers are illustrated in Figure 1. Consistent
with the national trend just under three-quarters of the States increase was from overseas born
sources, primarily from recent skilled migration and just over one quarter was from Australian born
sources.
The number of Australian born men increased from 26,336 in 2006 to 30,230 in 2011, an increase
of 3,849, equivalent to annual compound growth of 2.8%. This change accounted for 24% of the
States increase in the supply of engineers.
The number of Australian born women increased from 2,738 to 3,289 in 2011, an increase of 551.
Despite the small numbers this was equivalent to annual compound growth of 3.7% and accounted
for 3% of the increase in the States supply of engineers.
The largest increase was from overseas born men whose numbers increased from 23,354 to
33,130 in 2011, an increase of 9,776 and equivalent to annual compound growth of 7.2%.
Overseas born men accounted for 59% of the increase in the States labour supply.

page 4

The main factor behind the increase in women engineers was the increase in the number of
overseas born women from 3,900 to 6,128 in 2011, an increase of 2,228 and equivalent to annual
compound growth of 9.5%

THE DEMAND FOR ENGINEERS

The demand for engineers is measured by employment. In Victoria, the demand for engineers
increased from 54,377 in 2006 to 69,872 in 2011, an increase of 15,495 or 28.5% and equivalent
to annual compound growth of 5.1%. This was below national growth of 5.5% per annum.
The distribution of the increase in employment followed the distribution of the increase in the
supply of engineers and comprised 23.8% of Australian born men, 3.7% of Australian born women,
59.7% of overseas born men and 13.9% of overseas born women. In each segment, annual
compound growth in demand was less than annual compound growth in supply.
In 2006, 88.5% of men and 74.4% of women were employed full time and 11.5% of men and
25.6% of women were employed part time. The incidence of full time employment was slightly
higher for Australian born engineers and slightly lower for overseas born engineers. These figures
were very similar to the national situation. By 2011, the proportion of full time employment had
fallen and the proportion of part time work had increased; 87.4% of men and 71.7% of women
were employed full time and 12.6% of men and 28.2% of women were employed part time. As was
the case in 2006, the incidence of full time employment was higher among Australian born
engineers and lower among overseas born engineers. There was a particularly large increase in
the proportion of part time employment among Australian born women to 31.2%.

UNEMPLOYMENT
In 2006, there were 1,951 unemployed trained engineers in Victoria and the unemployment rate
was 3.5%. As was the case in several other States, unemployment for Australian born engineers
was consistent with what economists describe as frictional unemployment, the short periods of
unemployment consistent with transition between jobs. This applied to men and women although
the unemployment rate was higher for women; 2.6% compared to 2.0% for men. Unemployment
among overseas born engineers in 2006 could not be described in these terms. The overall rate
was 5.0%; lower for men at 4.6% and comparatively high for women at 7.3%.
Slower growth in demand than supply has meant that unemployment of engineers has increased in
Victoria in 2011. The overall unemployment rate was 4.0% and all groups were affected.
Unemployment rates for Australian born men increased to 2.4% and for Australian born women to
2.9%; rates while higher remain consistent with frictional unemployment. Unemployment rates for
overseas born men increased to 4.8% and for overseas born women to 7.8%; rates inconsistent
with skill shortages.
EMPLOYMENT IN ENGINEERING
Engineering qualifications are not a guarantee that individuals are employed in engineering. Earlier
research by Engineers Australia showed that in 2006, 60.9% of the supply of engineers is
page 5

employed in engineering work4. In Victoria, the proportion of the supply of engineers employed in
engineering was lower at 58.3%. By 2011; the national figure had increased to 62.1% but in
Victoria the proportion of the supply of engineers employed in engineering was stable at the 2006
level. In comparison, in 2011, 69.5% of the Western Australian and 68.3% of the Queensland
supplies of engineers were employed in engineering.
Key factors underpinning the Victorian outcome are gender and ethnicity. In 2006, the proportion of
men employed in engineering work in Victoria was 60.0% while the proportion of women was
45.4%. When these figures are dissected by ethnicity, the proportion of Australian born men
employed in engineering was 67.3% and the proportion of overseas born men was 51.8%. The
corresponding figures for women were 56.0% for Australian born women and 37.9% for overseas
born women. By 2011, there were small increases in the proportion employed in engineering in
each of the four segments of engineering supply, but the differences in labour market experiences
between segments resulted in the overall proportion remaining unchanged.

INDUSTRY DISTRIBUTION
The industry distribution of the employment of engineers in 2006 and 2011 in Victoria and how it
has changed is shown in Table 2. The Table measures change in two ways; first, the proportional
changes in employment in each industry between the 2006 and 2011 censuses are calculated for
men, women and the two genders combined; second, each industrys share of the increase in
engineering employment in the State between 2006 and 2011 is calculated for each gender and
engineers overall.

Table 2: Changes in Victorian Industry Distribution of Engineering Employment

2006 Census
Men Women Total
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
358
37
395
Mining
494
69
563
Manufacturing
12228 1341 13569
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services
1436
188
1624
Construction
3211
213
3424
Wholesale Trade
3107
387
3494
Retail Trade
1935
416
2351
Accommodation and Food Services
718
211
929
Transport, Postal and Warehousing
2341
139
2480
Information Media and Telecommunications
1882
199
2081
Financial and Insurance Services
1117
242
1359
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services
357
39
396
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 10237 1235 11472
Administrative and Support Services
874
159
1033
Public Administration and Safety
3045
415
3460
Education and Training
1934
449
2383
Health Care and Social Assistance
623
283
906
Arts and Recreation Services
239
36
275
Other Services
873
94
967
Inadequately described & not stated
1091
129
1220
Total
48100 6281 54381
Source: Compiled using the ABS TableBuilder Pro Facility
Industry

2011 Census
Men Women Total
417
34
451
841
122
963
13599 1470 15069
2223
326
2549
4692
401
5093
3542
443
3985
2311
540
2851
1076
279
1355
3864
342
4206
2501
294
2795
1496
323
1819
457
61
518
13813 2077 15890
1108
259
1367
3110
479
3589
2278
567
2845
881
435
1316
383
65
448
1260
156
1416
1175
173
1348
61027 8846 69873

Change 2006-11 (%) Share of Change(%)

Men Women Total Men Women Total
16.5
-8.1
14.2
0.5
-0.1
0.4
70.2
76.8
71.0
2.7
2.1
2.6
11.2
9.6
11.1 10.6
5.0
9.7
54.8
73.4
57.0
6.1
5.4
6.0
46.1
88.3
48.7 11.5
7.3
10.8
14.0
14.5
14.1
3.4
2.2
3.2
19.4
29.8
21.3
2.9
4.8
3.2
49.9
32.2
45.9
2.8
2.7
2.7
65.1 146.0
69.6 11.8
7.9
11.1
32.9
47.7
34.3
4.8
3.7
4.6
33.9
33.5
33.8
2.9
3.2
3.0
28.0
56.4
30.8
0.8
0.9
0.8
34.9
68.2
38.5 27.6
32.9
28.5
26.8
62.9
32.3
1.8
3.9
2.2
2.1
15.4
3.7
0.5
2.5
0.8
17.8
26.3
19.4
2.7
4.6
3.0
41.4
53.7
45.3
2.0
5.9
2.6
60.3
80.6
62.9
1.1
1.1
1.1
44.3
66.0
46.4
3.0
2.4
2.9
7.7
34.1
10.5
0.6
1.7
0.8
26.9
40.8
28.5 100.0 100.0 100.0

See Engineers Australia, The Engineering Profession: A Statistical Overview, Ninth Edition, 2012,
www.engineersaustralia.org.au
page 6

Victorian engineers were employed in every industry in the ABS classification system in both 2006
and 2011. The two largest employers of engineers in 2006, professional, scientific and technical
services, engineering consulting for short, and manufacturing, retained this status in 2011 but
switched ranks. Manufacturing was the largest employer in 2006 but engineering consulting
assumed this position in 2011. Five industries accounted for two-thirds of the increase in Victorias
employment of engineers; engineering consulting, manufacturing, the transport, postal and
warehousing industry, the construction industry and the electricity, water gas and waste utilities.
In 2006, engineering consulting employed 11,472 engineers, 10,237 men and 1,235 women. By
2011, industry employment had increased by 68.2% to 15,890, 13,813 men and 2,077 women,
accounting for 28.5% of the States increase in the employment of engineers.
The manufacturing industry employed 13,569 engineers in 2006, 12,228 men and 1,341 women.
Industry employment increased by 11.1% to 15,069 by 2011, 13,599 men and 1,470 women,
accounting for 9.7% of Victorias increase in the employment of engineers.
The transport, postal and warehousing industry employed 2,480 engineers in 2006, 2,341 men and
139 women. Industry employment increased by 69.6% to 4,206 by 2011, 3,864 men and 342
women, accounting for 11.1% of Victorias increase in the employment of engineers.
The construction industry employed 3,424 engineers in 2006, 3,211 men and 213 women. Industry
employment increased by 48.7% to 5,093 by 2011, 4,692 men and 401 women, accounting for
10.8% of Victorias increase in the employment of engineers.
The electricity, water, gas and waste industry employed 1,624 engineers in 2006, 1,436 men and
188 women. Industry employment increased by 57.0% to 2,549 by 2011, 2,223 men and 326
women, accounting for 6.0% of Victorias increase in the employment of engineers.
The remaining increases in employment were widely distributed and contributed small increases to
the States employment of engineers.
The proportion of engineers employed in engineering work in Victoria is examined by industry in
Table 3. The statistics in this Table are slightly different to those in Table 1 because to allocate
engineers to an industry they must be employed. Table 1 looks at the proportion of the available
supply of engineers working in engineering and includes unemployment in supply. For this reason,
discussion is benchmarked to the Victorian employment statistics instead of labour supply in Table
3.
Engineers are employed in engineering work in every industry but the proportions vary radically
from industry to industry. In seven industries, the proportions of trained engineers employed in
engineering work were above the State benchmarks.
In engineering consulting, the proportion of engineers employed in engineering work was
consistently above 80%. In mining it was consistently above 79%, followed by the electricity, water,
gas and waste utilities with proportions consistently above 77% and the construction industry with
proportions consistently above 68%. In public administration and safety, 70.8% of engineers were
employed in engineering work in 2006 but this fell to 65.7% in 2011. In contrast, in the information
media and communications industry, the proportion of engineers employed in engineering work
increased from 65.9% to 70.4%. Although, manufacturing industry was one of the largest
page 7

employers of engineers, just over 63% were employed in engineering work in each of the census
years.

Table 3: The Proportions of Victorian Employment of Engineers in Engineering (%)

Industry
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
Mining
Manufacturing
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services
Construction
Wholesale Trade
Retail Trade
Accommodation and Food Services
Transport, Postal and Warehousing
Information Media and Telecommunications
Financial and Insurance Services
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
Administrative and Support Services
Public Administration and Safety
Education and Training
Health Care and Social Assistance
Arts and Recreation Services
Other Services
Inadequately described & not stated
Total
Source: Compiled using the ABS TableBuilder Pro Facility

2006
6.3
79.9
63.4
77.5
68.0
54.0
19.0
5.0
52.2
65.9
40.3
28.0
80.0
27.5
70.8
57.1
28.6
25.1
26.3
49.7
60.4

2011
8.9
79.3
63.8
77.6
68.7
51.2
16.1
4.4
57.3
70.4
44.0
26.6
80.6
29.3
65.7
56.3
22.6
30.1
25.8
50.7
60.7

In many industries that employ significant numbers of trained engineers, the proportion of these
individuals employed doing engineering work is lower than the State benchmark, particularly low in
a few cases. Further work is necessary to understand this situation, in particular how it relates to
career progression and its impact on skill shortages.

CONTACT:
Andre Kaspura, Policy Analyst, Policy and Public Relations, Engineers Australia
akaspura@engineersaustralia.org.au (02) 62706581
page 8