Information Media and Telecommunications

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
197,100
Past Growth
-9.8%
Future Growth
0.4%
Weekly Earnings
$1,600
Workforce Share
1.4%
Full-Time Share
79.2%
Female Share
42.4%
Average Age
40

Summary

Information Media and Telecommunications is a small employing industry. Around 1.4% of workers have their main job in this industry.

Businesses in this industry are mainly involved in activities like:

  • creating, enhancing, storing and distributing information products
  • transmitting information products using analogue and digital signals
  • operating the infrastructure to enable the transmission and storage of information and information products.

A large share of the workforce work in cities.

Around 44% of workers have a university qualification and 24% have a VET qualification.

Many people with their main job in this industry work full-time hours.

Average earnings are $1,600 per week, higher the all industries average of $1,250.

Employment

Employment in the Information Media and Telecommunications industry fell over the 20 years to February 2023.

The number of workers:

  • grew by 5,800 (or 3.1%) over the last quarter
  • fell by 6,700 (or 3.3%) over the last year.

Quarterly employment, Information Media and Telecommunications industry

Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, February 2023, seasonally adjusted.


Outlook

Employment in Information Media and Telecommunications is projected to fall by 700 (or 0.4%) over the five years to November 2026.

Employment levels, past and projected, Information Media and Telecommunications

Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, November 2021, seasonally adjusted and Jobs and Skills Australia, 2021 Employment projections for the five years to 2026.


Sectors

Telecommunications Services is the largest sector in the Information Media and Telecommunications industry, employing 41.3% of workers.

Employment by sector, Information Media and Telecommunications industry

Source: ABS, Labour Force Survey, Detailed, February 2023, seasonally adjusted.


Occupations

Largest employing occupations

Film, Television, Radio and Stage Directors is the largest employing occupation in the Information Media and Telecommunications industry.

The 10 largest employing occupations are shown below. The table shows:

  • the number employed in all industries
  • the number employed in this industry
  • the proportion employed in this industry.

Some occupations are common across a number of industries.

Largest employing occupations, Information Media and Telecommunications industry

ANZSCO Code Occupation title

Employment
(all industries)

Employment
(this industry)
Proportion employed in this industry
2123 Film, Television, Radio and Stage Directors 17,200 13,300 77%
2121 Artistic Directors, Media Producers & Presenters 14,100 10,000 71%
3424 Telecommunications Trades Workers 17,500 9,400 54%
2124 Journalists and Other Writers 24,000 9,000 38%
1351 ICT Managers 72,400 8,000 11%
2246 Librarians 13,800 8,000 58%
2633 Telecommunications Engineering Professionals 15,300 7,800 51%
1311 Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Manager 163,800 6,000 4%
2613 Software and Applications Programmers 150,400 5,800 4%
3995 Performing Arts Technicians 17,500 4,600 26%

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, four quarter average, 2021.

Related occupations

The Information Media and Telecommunications industry employs workers in a range of occupations.

The table below shows related occupations by ANZSCO Skill Level (Skill Level 1 is the highest skill level). This includes occupations that:

  • contribute a large share of industry employment (account for at least 3% of industry employment)
  • have a large share of workers in this industry (at least 5% of workers in an occupation).

These thresholds were used as a guide only and a number refinements were made to the list of occupations included.

The table shows the total number of people employed in each occupation as well as the number and proportion employed in this industry at the time of the 2016 ABS Census.

  • In most cases, 6-digit ANZSCO occupations are shown. This is the most detailed level of ANZSCO.
  • 4-digit occupations are shown where the ANZSCO classification system only has one valid 6-digit occupation.
  • The 4-digit employment figures will differ from the figures shown in the Largest employment occupations table above because the figures have come from different data sources.

Expand or collapse each Skill Level button to view related occupations.

Occupations related to Information Media and Telecommunications industry, by skill level

ANZSCO code Occupation title Employment
(all industries)
Employed
(this industry)
Proportion employed in this industry
135112 ICT Project Manager 36,965 4,755 13%
131112 Sales and Marketing Manager 93,896 4,548 5%
212112 Media Producer (excluding Video) 6,919 4,236 61%
263312 Telecommunications Network Engineer 6,000 3,650 61%
111211 Corporate General Manager 47,951 3,360 7%
212413 Print Journalist 3,778 3,264 86%
225113 Marketing Specialist 47,537 2,608 5%
212412 Newspaper or Periodical Editor 4,244 2,509 59%
261313 Software Engineer 29,656 2,114 7%
224711 Management Consultant 53,306 2,113 4%
2246 Librarian 8,950 2,034 23%
232411 Graphic Designer 25,051 1,986 8%
212314 Film and Video Editor 2,378 1,960 82%
225213 ICT Sales Representative 6,922 1,866 27%
261312 Developer Programmer 33,248 1,728 5%
212312 Director (Film, Television, Radio or Stage) 2,031 1,459 72%
263311 Telecommunications Engineer 2,633 1,338 51%
263111 Computer Network and Systems Engineer 12,691 1,213 10%
212113 Radio Presenter 1,808 1,048 58%
212315 Program Director (Television or Radio) 1,078 987 92%
212318 Video Producer 1,406 987 70%
261111 ICT Business Analyst 13,219 963 7%
212416 Television Journalist 988 961 97%
2253 Public Relations Professional 14,991 916 6%
225111 Advertising Specialist 5,643 889 16%
225211 ICT Account Manager 4,058 806 20%
212212 Book or Script Editor 1,254 793 63%
212499 Journalists and Other Writers nec 1,897 746 39%
262113 Systems Administrator 12,654 716 6%
263112 Network Administrator 5,575 680 12%
135199 ICT Managers nec 5,490 676 12%
261212 Web Developer 8,297 625 8%
212211 Author 3,184 613 19%
232413 Multimedia Designer 2,652 516 19%
261112 Systems Analyst 8,243 502 6%
263212 ICT Support Engineer 6,405 492 8%
232412 Illustrator 1,940 472 24%
224712 Organisation and Methods Analyst 6,889 448 7%
212414 Radio Journalist 460 431 94%
131113 Advertising Manager 1,796 404 22%
263113 Network Analyst 1,633 401 25%
131114 Public Relations Manager 6,214 395 6%
262111 Database Administrator 6,117 382 6%
225212 ICT Business Development Manager 2,814 371 13%
212399 Film, Television, Radio and Stage Directors nec 592 370 63%
212313 Director of Photography 419 356 85%
261314 Software Tester 6,670 345 5%
2334 Electronics Engineer 4,147 342 8%
135111 Chief Information Officer 3,605 333 9%
212114 Television Presenter 425 333 78%
211111 Actor 1,485 308 21%
262112 ICT Security Specialist 3,967 306 8%
212317 Technical Director 380 296 78%
232414 Web Designer 4,760 283 6%
261311 Analyst Programmer 5,998 241 4%
224211 Archivist 934 194 21%
212411 Copywriter 1,943 172 9%
212415 Technical Writer 2,773 161 6%
225112 Market Research Analyst 2,969 153 5%
263299 ICT Support and Test Engineers nec 1,227 150 12%
212311 Art Director (Film, Television or Stage) 170 117 69%
263213 ICT Systems Test Engineer 1,445 115 8%
211199 Actors, Dancers and Other Entertainers nec 1,111 108 10%
212316 Stage Manager 345 86 25%
224214 Records Manager 2,007 80 4%
261211 Multimedia Specialist 569 67 12%
234911 Conservator 434 64 15%
211211 Composer 290 56 19%
224212 Gallery or Museum Curator 1,088 42 4%
263211 ICT Quality Assurance Engineer 637 39 6%

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report.

ANZSCO code Occupation title Employment
(all industries)
Employed
(this industry)
Proportion employed in this industry
511112 Program or Project Administrator 85,106 3,127 4%
313112 ICT Customer Support Officer 36,021 2,363 7%
399312 Library Technician 6,290 1,256 20%
149212 Customer Service Manager 32,559 1,246 4%
313213 Telecommunications Network Planner 1,542 1,212 79%
149912 Cinema or Theatre Manager 1,582 1,173 74%
313212 Telecommunications Field Engineer 798 570 71%
312412 Electronic Engineering Technician 3,534 542 15%
313214 Telecommunications Technical Officer or Technologist 831 507 61%
2113 Photographer 10,909 468 4%
313113 Web Administrator 2,477 254 10%
313211 Radiocommunications Technician 825 245 30%
149211 Call or Contact Centre Manager 2,965 239 8%
313199 ICT Support Technicians nec 888 68 8%

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report.

ANZSCO code Occupation title Employment
(all industries)
Employed
(this industry)
Proportion employed in this industry
342414 Telecommunications Technician 12,060 7,756 64%
399512 Camera Operator (Film, Television or Video) 1,980 1,613 81%
399516 Sound Technician 2,760 1,264 46%
342413 Telecommunications Linesworker 1,605 1,000 62%
342411 Cabler (Data and Telecommunications) 1,981 737 37%
392311 Printing Machinist 4,315 652 15%
342412 Telecommunications Cable Jointer 931 587 63%
399599 Performing Arts Technicians nec 1,337 500 37%
399511 Broadcast Transmitter Operator 393 369 94%
3922 Graphic Pre-press Trades Worker 1,960 317 16%
399513 Light Technician 811 200 25%
399514 Make Up Artist 2,377 189 8%
541111 Call or Contact Centre Team Leader 2,228 183 8%
392111 Print Finisher 1,853 109 6%
399517 Television Equipment Operator 100 95 95%

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report.

ANZSCO code Occupation title Employment
(all industries)
Employed
(this industry)
Proportion employed in this industry
611312 Sales Representative (Business Services) 16,923 3,768 22%
5412 Information Officer 53,555 3,115 6%
541112 Call or Contact Centre Operator 28,112 1,691 6%
5997 Library Assistant 6,690 1,442 22%
599912 Production Assistant (Film, Television, Radio or Stage) 1,132 870 77%
599914 Radio Despatcher 3,797 513 14%
591112 Production Clerk 4,235 379 9%
899511 Printer's Assistant 1,980 237 12%
532112 Machine Shorthand Reporter 1,227 172 14%
711912 Motion Picture Projectionist 160 134 84%
899512 Printing Table Worker 873 82 9%
599913 Proof Reader 266 54 20%
399915 Photographer's Assistant 558 22 4%

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report.

ANZSCO code Occupation title Employment
(all industries)
Employed
(this industry)
Proportion employed in this industry
6212 ICT Sales Assistant 12,141 3,671 30%
639411 Ticket Seller 15,248 3,434 23%
899921 Ticket Collector or Usher 2,595 816 31%
899915 Leaflet or Newspaper Deliverer 5,729 752 13%
6393 Telemarketer 6,404 587 9%
561911 Classified Advertising Clerk 208 113 54%
899914 Electrical or Telecommunications Trades Assistant 2,194 91 4%

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report.


Data Downloads

Industry profile data

This file contains data for all 19 industries to make comparing industry data easy. Information available includes:

  • Industry snapshot data
  • Industry employment (20-year time series)
  • Industry employment projections
  • Industry sector employment
  • Top employing occupations by industry
Excel document
Industry Profile Data February 2023

(95 Kb)

Occupations related to each Industry, by Skill Level

This spreadsheet lists occupations that are related to each industry by ANZSCO Skill Level.

Excel document
Related Occupations By Skill Level

(251 Kb)


Useful links

Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) 

The ANZSIC provides a basis for the standardised collection, analysis and dissemination of economic data on an industry basis for Australia and New Zealand. The ANZSIC is a hierarchical industry classification with four levels, namely Divisions (the broadest level), Subdivisions, Groups and Classes (the finest level).

There are 19 Division level industries, most industry data on LMI are displayed at this level. Division level industries provide a broad overall picture of the economy and this level is most suitable for the publication of summary tables in official statistics. 

The Subdivision, Group and Class levels provide increasingly detailed dissections of these categories for the compilation of more specific and detailed statistics. The sector data on LMI is at the Group level. 

For more information on the ANZSIC visit the ABS website


Industry links

INDUSTRY QUICK LINKS
Back to top