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Sales Assistants (General)

ANZSCO ID 6211

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Overview

Snapshot

Employed
539,400
Future Growth
1.7%
Weekly Earnings
$1,055
Full-Time Share
25%
Female Share
68%
Average age
26
About this data

Summary

Sales Assistants (General) sell goods and services, such as food, clothing, hardware, household appliances, office supplies and cosmetics, in retail and wholesale establishments.

Also known as: Retail Sales Assistant.

Specialisations: Clothing Sales Assistant, Cosmetic Sales Assistant, Fast Food Sales Assistant, Hardware Sales Assistant.

Formal qualifications are not usually required to work as a Sales Assistant (General). Some workers have a certificate II or III in retail.

Tasks

  • determining customer requirements and advising on product range, price, delivery, warranties and product use and care

  • demonstrating and explaining to customers the establishment's goods and services

  • selling food, beverages, clothing, footwear and other personal and household goods and services

  • accepting payment for goods and services by a variety of payment methods and preparing sales invoices

  • assisting with the ongoing management of stock such as product inventories and participating in stocktakes

  • stacking and displaying goods for sale, and wrapping and packing goods sold

Characteristics

Job Type
Sales Workers
Skill Level
Entry level
ANZSCO Occupation group
6211 Sales Assistants (General) This occupation is Current selected
Unemployment Rate
Above average
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • Vocational Education and Training (VET)
  • Informal or on-the-job
Interests
  • Administrative
  • Enterprising
Physical Demand
  • Sedentary
  • Light
  • Medium
  • Heavy
  • Very Heavy

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. The latest data are for the five years from November 2021 to November 2026. Over this period, the number of workers in this occupation is likely to remain stable.

Source: Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.

Notes: The number employed includes people who work in this occupation as their main job. People who work in more than one job are counted against the occupation they work the most hours in.

Employment projections figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Calculations based on these rounded figures may result in differences to the numbers that are displayed on this page. Employment projections data (including occupations) can be downloaded from the Employment Projections page.

Projected Change
1.7%
(or 8,600 jobs)
From
521,100
in 2021
To
529,700
in 2026

Number of Workers

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.
Year Employment
2011 482,000
2012 501,300
2013 521,700
2014 495,700
2015 553,000
2016 490,600
2017 548,700
2018 508,400
2019 460,100
2020 525,700
2021 521,100
2026 529,700

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.

Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 28% of people employed as Sales Assistants (General) work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 38 percentage points below the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 41 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Median full-time earnings are $1,055 per week, this is much lower than the all jobs median ($1,593):

    • 3 in 4 workers earn more than $956
    • 1 in 4 earn more than $1,212

    Median hourly earnings are $26, this is lower than the all jobs median ($41 per hour).

    Sources: Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average. Full-time median earnings and median hourly earnings: ABS, Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021. Compared to all jobs median.

Weekly Earnings (Before Tax)

Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Earnings Sales Assistants (General) All Jobs Average
Full-Time Earnings 1,055 1,593
Total Earnings 0 0

Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.

Industries

Main industries

1
Retail Trade
73.2%
2
Accommodation and Food Services
14.0%
3
Manufacturing
3.5%
4
Wholesale Trade
3.2%
5
Other industries
6.2%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

30.8% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

27.2% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

20.2% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

7.2% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

10.0% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

2.4% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.7% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.5% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Sales Assistants (General) All Jobs Average
NSW 30.8 31.6
VIC 27.2 25.6
QLD 20.2 20.0
SA 7.2 7.0
WA 10.0 10.8
TAS 2.4 2.0
NT 0.7 1.0
ACT 1.5 1.9


Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
26
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
68%
All Jobs Average is 48%

  • The median age of Sales Assistants (General) is 26 years. This is younger than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 15 to 19 years.

    Females make up 68% of the workforce. This is 20 percentage points above the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Sales Assistants (General) All Jobs Average
15-19 25.7 5.0
20-24 20.3 9.3
25-34 16.0 22.9
35-44 11.7 22.0
45-54 13.4 21.6
55-59 5.9 9.0
60-64 4.1 6.0
65 and Over 2.9 4.2
Median Age 26 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.

Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

Formal qualifications are not usually required to work as a Sales Assistant (General). Some workers have a certificate II or III in retail.

Visit

  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Retail Services VET training pathways.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Sales Assistants (General) All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 2.3 10.1
Bachelor degree 9.1 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 7.3 11.6
Certificate III/IV 11.5 21.1
Year 12 36.7 18.1
Year 11 10.8 4.8
Year 10 and below 22.3 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.

Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for General Sale Assistants who interact well with others, provide good customer service and are reliable.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 54%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 54%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 52%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 50%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 48%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 46%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 46%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 45%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 43%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 43%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 43%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 41%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 41%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 41%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 37%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 37%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 34%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 34%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 27%

    Mathematics

    Using maths to solve problems.

  • 21%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.

Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 68%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 58%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • 46%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 45%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 42%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 42%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 38%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 37%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 36%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 32%

    Production and processing

    Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.

  • 32%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 30%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 27%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 26%

    Transportation

    Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.

  • 24%

    Economics and accounting

    Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.

  • 23%

    Mechanical

    Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

  • 22%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

  • 22%

    Technical design

    Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

  • 19%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 19%

    Engineering and technology

    Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.

Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 55%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 54%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 52%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 48%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 46%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 45%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 45%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 43%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 43%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 43%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 43%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 43%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 41%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 39%

    Originality

    Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.

  • 39%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 36%

    Finger dexterity

    Put together small parts with your fingers.

  • 36%

    Multitasking

    Do two or more things at the same time.

  • 36%

    Working with numbers

    Add, subtract, multiply, or divide.

  • 34%

    Mathematics

    Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.

  • 32%

    Memorization

    Remember things like words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 72%

    Working with the public

    Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.

  • 69%

    Influencing people

    Convincing people to buy something or to change their minds or actions.

  • 65%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 55%

    Handling and moving objects

    Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.

  • 55%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 54%

    Communicating with the public

    Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 53%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 51%

    Thinking creatively

    Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.

  • 51%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 49%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 49%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 48%

    Negotiating and resolving conflicts

    Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.

  • 47%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 45%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.

  • 43%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 43%

    Training and teaching others

    Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.

  • 42%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

  • 41%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 36%

    Checking for errors or defects

    Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.

  • 32%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 100%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 57%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 48%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 38%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 24%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

  • 14%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.

  • 71%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 57%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.

  • 43%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 43%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 38%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.

  • 33%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:

  • 100%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 98%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 97%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 96%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 86%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 84%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 82%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 82%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 82%

    Spend time standing

    Spend time standing at work.

  • 81%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 80%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 78%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 76%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 73%

    Walking and running

    Spend time walking and running.

  • 73%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 72%

    Competition

    Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.

  • 71%

    Angry or unpleasant people

    Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.

  • 70%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 66%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 63%

    Repeating same tasks

    Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 41-2031.00 - Retail Salespersons.

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