Report delivers snapshot of transport workers

A government report profiling transport, postal and warehousing workers reveals a snapshot of an ageing, better-educated but lower-paid workforce

The Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development has issued a report that delves into the evolving profile of transport, postal and warehousing (TPW) workers, based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data taken from 2006 to 2011.

The report, which excludes transport-related workers from other industries (such as mining and construction), reveals that the majority of the 479,181 people listed as TPW workers in 2011 worked in the road transport industry (49 per cent), followed by the postal and courier delivery sector (13 per cent), transport support services (12 per cent), air and space transport (nine per cent) and rail transport (nine per cent).

The bulk of the 51,400 employees added to the TPW sector over the period surveyed went to the road transport area (21,900 employees).

The report found that 77 per cent of TPW jobs were held by males, of whom 22.9 per cent were aged 55 or over. That's significantly above the all-industry average of 17.6 per cent. Furthermore, it was found that the age of the TPW workforce is rising faster than in other industries – the proportion of workers aged 55 or over rose by 3.5 percentage points from 2006 to 2011, compared to a rise of 2.5 percentage points across all industries.

While TPW workers were found to be generally less educated than the average Australian worker – 44 per cent of TPW workers held a post-school qualification, compared to 58 per cent for all Australian employees – the level of education for those working in TPW was found to improve over the period surveyed. In that period, 89 per cent of the TPW workers added to the sector were found to hold post-school qualifications.

The average weekly income of TPW workers was found to be around five per cent lower than the all-industry average, while the median income was found to be three per cent lower. The average weekly income for full-time TPW workers was $1079 (compared to $1264 for all full-time employees), while the median for full-time TPW workers was $1264 (compared to $1332 for all full-time employees).

According to the ABS census data from 2011, a total of 9.3 per cent of TPW workers had a total personal income of over $104,000 per annum, compared to 10.3 per cent of all workers.

The report also showed an emerging trend towards TPW workers working fewer hours each week. The proportion of TPW workers who worked 49 hours or more each week fell by 2.5 percentage points over the period, while the proportion of TPW workers working full-time fell by 0.8 percentage points.

Click here to view the full report.

Report delivers snapshot of transport workers

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