First Nations people make diverse and important contributions to Australia’s workforce and are leading the way at the pinnacle of many sectors, but unacceptable gaps persist in education and employment outcomes at the population level. First Nations people continue to face additional barriers to work and study compared to other Australians.

Jobs and Skills Australia has used administrative data to piece together new information to aid conversations about supporting First Nations people to thrive in Australia’s workforce. Previously data of this nature has only been available every five years through the census.

Key findings:

• While gaps still exist for the community in employment and education, particularly in remote areas, a number of positive trends are emerging.
• Public Administration was the highest employing industry, and the number of First Nations people working in it increased by 27% between February 2020 and May 2022. This trend, along with a lower reliance on hospitality jobs, helped First Nations employment recover more quickly than non-Indigenous employment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Other occupations which saw strong First Nations growth included Welfare Support Workers (33%), Aged and Disabled Carers (31%) and Child Carers (22%).