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Office Managers

ANZSCO ID 5121

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Overview

Snapshot

Employed
136,000
Future Growth
4.9%
Weekly Earnings
$1,501
Full-Time Share
59%
Female Share
88%
Average age
46
About this data

Summary

Office Managers organise and control the functions and resources of offices such as administrative systems and office personnel.

Tasks

  • contributing to the planning and review of office services, and setting priorities and office service standards

  • allocating human resources, space and equipment

  • assigning work to and monitoring work performance of staff

  • managing records and accounts of the office

  • liaising with Professionals to coordinate office business and to facilitate resolution of problems

  • managing physical facilities and ensuring buildings and equipment are maintained

  • ensuring compliance with occupational health and safety regulations

  • ensuring work complies with relevant government legislation, policies and procedures

  • coordinating personnel activities such as hiring, promotions, performance management, payroll, training and supervision

Characteristics

Job Type
Clerical And Administrative Workers
Skill Level
High skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
5121 Office Managers This occupation is Current selected
Unemployment Rate
Below average
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
  • Vocational Education and Training (VET)
  • Informal or on-the-job
Interests
  • Administrative
  • Enterprising
  • Helping
Physical Demand
  • Sedentary

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:

  • is expected to grow moderately
  • is likely to reach 156,500 by 2026.

    • 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
4.9%
(or 7,300 jobs)
From
149,300
in 2021
To
156,500
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 149,200
2012 135,300
2013 126,500
2014 122,900
2015 135,900
2016 119,800
2017 116,300
2018 165,100
2019 168,500
2020 163,800
2021 149,300
2026 156,500

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 62% of people employed as Office Managers work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 4 percentage points below the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 42 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Median full-time earnings are $1,501 per week, this is lower than the all jobs median ($1,593):

    • 3 in 4 workers earn more than $1,288
    • 1 in 4 earn more than $1,780

    Median hourly earnings are $40, this is similar to 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 Office Managers All Jobs Average
Full-Time Earnings 1,501 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
Construction
12.8%
2
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
10.6%
3
Health Care and Social Assistance
10.5%
4
Manufacturing
9.2%
5
Other industries
57.0%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

32.0% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

24.3% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

21.6% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

6.7% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

10.4% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

2.1% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

1.0% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.9% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Office Managers All Jobs Average
NSW 32.0 31.6
VIC 24.3 25.6
QLD 21.6 20.0
SA 6.7 7.0
WA 10.4 10.8
TAS 2.1 2.0
NT 1.0 1.0
ACT 1.9 1.9


Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
46
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
88%
All Jobs Average is 48%

  • The median age of Office Managers is 46 years. This is higher than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 45 to 54 years.

    Females make up 88% of the workforce. This is 40 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 Office Managers All Jobs Average
15-19 0.4 5.0
20-24 3.3 9.3
25-34 16.1 22.9
35-44 24.6 22.0
45-54 30.3 21.6
55-59 12.5 9.0
60-64 8.0 6.0
65 and Over 4.8 4.2
Median Age 46 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

Relevant industry experience is needed to work as an Office Manager. Some workers also have a Vocational Education and Training (VET) or university qualification in business management or a sector specific qualification.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Business Services, Financial Services and Public Sector 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 Office Managers All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 5.4 10.1
Bachelor degree 15.8 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 17.9 11.6
Certificate III/IV 17.0 21.1
Year 12 22.2 18.1
Year 11 7.2 4.8
Year 10 and below 14.6 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 Office Managers who are flexible and adaptable, who can communicate with different people and work well in a team.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 57%

    Monitoring

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

  • 57%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 55%

    Active listening

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

  • 55%

    Critical thinking

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

  • 55%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 54%

    Active learning

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

  • 54%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 54%

    Management of personnel resources

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

  • 54%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 54%

    Time management

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

  • 54%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 54%

    Learning strategies

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

  • 52%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 52%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 50%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 50%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 46%

    Complex problem solving

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

  • 45%

    Judgment and decision making

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

  • 43%

    Systems analysis

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

  • 43%

    Systems evaluation

    Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 72%

    Clerical

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

  • 70%

    Customer and personal service

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

  • 61%

    Computers and electronics

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

  • 58%

    Administration and management

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

  • 54%

    English language

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

  • 52%

    Education and training

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

  • 52%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 49%

    Personnel and human resources

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

  • 41%

    Sales and marketing

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

  • 36%

    Law and government

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

  • 35%

    Economics and accounting

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

  • 32%

    Communications and media

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

  • 31%

    Public safety and security

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

  • 28%

    Production and processing

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

  • 26%

    Psychology

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

  • 22%

    Telecommunications

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

  • 21%

    Engineering and technology

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

  • 16%

    Therapy and counselling

    Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.

  • 14%

    Transportation

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

  • 14%

    Sociology and anthropology

    Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 57%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 57%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 57%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 57%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 54%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 52%

    Problem spotting

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

  • 52%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 50%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 50%

    Near vision

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

  • 48%

    Originality

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

  • 46%

    Inductive reasoning

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

  • 46%

    Sorting or ordering

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

  • 43%

    Brainstorming

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

  • 43%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 41%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 41%

    Multitasking

    Do two or more things at the same time.

  • 39%

    Mathematics

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

  • 37%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 34%

    Auditory attention

    Pay attention to a certain sound when there are other distracting sounds.

  • 34%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

Activities

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

  • 68%

    Planning and prioritising work

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

  • 68%

    Negotiating and resolving conflicts

    Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.

  • 67%

    Collecting and organising information

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

  • 66%

    Coaching and developing others

    Working out the needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or helping them to improve.

  • 65%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 63%

    Communicating within a team

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

  • 61%

    Guiding and directing staff

    Guiding and directing staff, including setting and monitoring performance standards.

  • 60%

    Making decisions and solving problems

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

  • 60%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

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

  • 58%

    Making sense of information and ideas

    Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.

  • 57%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 56%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

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

  • 55%

    Hiring and organising staff

    Recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and promoting employees.

  • 55%

    Assessing and evaluating things

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

  • 55%

    Managing payments and orders

    Monitoring and controlling resources and the spending of money.

  • 55%

    Working with computers

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

  • 55%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 52%

    Leading and encouraging a team

    Encouraging and building trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

  • 52%

    Looking for changes over time

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

  • 49%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

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.

  • 95%

    Enterprising

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

  • 81%

    Administrative

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

  • 62%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 24%

    Creative

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

  • 24%

    Practical

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

  • 19%

    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.

  • 81%

    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.

  • 76%

    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.

  • 76%

    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.

  • 69%

    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.

  • 62%

    Achievement

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

  • 62%

    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.

Demands

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

  • 99%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 99%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 94%

    Contact with people

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

  • 91%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 91%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 88%

    Unstructured work

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

  • 87%

    Responsible for outcomes

    Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.

  • 86%

    Spend time sitting

    Spend time sitting at work.

  • 85%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 81%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 81%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 81%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 80%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 79%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 79%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 77%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 72%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 69%

    Conflict situations

    Deal with conflict or disagreements.

  • 63%

    Making repetitive motions

    Spend time making repetitive motions.

  • 63%

    Angry or unpleasant people

    Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.

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, 43-1011.00 - First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers.

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