A Sydney obsessed by beauty has provided a jobs boon for fitness instructors and therapists.
That is the verdict from the latest round of census figures, delivered on Monday four months after the first release in June with a focus on how and where we work.
It shows across the country the number of people working as beauty therapists and fitness instructors has surged by more than 25 per cent since 2011, driven by its two biggest cities - Melbourne and Sydney - despite the country's population climbing by less than 9 per cent.
Sydney beauty therapist Meagan Rogers has seen the beauty industry expand for more than 13 years despite the growth of do-it-yourself competition from online tutorials.
"It takes the stress out of people where they can just come in and get the things done for them," she said.
"We are at an age when there's no time any more to go from one place to another; people want the convenience of coming somewhere they can get all of the services done."
Health awareness and an ageing population have had an impact on the more serious side of the industry too.
If you live in Greater Sydney you are now more likely to work in a hospital than in any other place.
Almost 3.4 per cent, or 80,000 Sydneysiders now work there, compared to 4 per cent of Melburnians.
Thanks to the financial services boom you are now just as likely to work in bank or a financial firm as a cafe or restaurant in Sydney, with 2.5 per cent of all employees earning their living in both industries.
At the same time, the economy-wide shift to part-time work is reflected in the number of average hours worked by Australians falling from 35.1 to 34.6 per week, with twice as many women working part time as men.
Overall, you are more likely to work part time in Melbourne (31 per cent) than you are in Sydney (28 per cent), where residents are also more likely to work for longer.
Up to 45.8 per cent of Sydneysiders work 40 hours or more per week and 43 per cent do the same in Melbourne.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures also show the push towards the service economy is in full swing, with the number of workers in the community and personal service sector up 19 per cent since the last time they were tallied.
One in every eight workers now make their money in healthcare and social assistance as nurses, counsellors and, increasingly, care workers for older Australians.
Age also makes a difference to the types of jobs we are performing.
While those under 30 were most likely to be fast food cooks, bartenders, baristas, waiters or sportspeople, those over 60 were more likely than younger groups to be livestock and crop farmers, caretakers and bus drivers.
Between the genders, the industries historically dominated by men, such as manufacturing and mining, are on the way down, as women take on more positions in some of the fastest growing areas such as social assistance and education.
The gender gap is widest in technical and trades industries, which have 84 per cent male employees, while 74 per cent of health professionals and 63 per cent of legal, social and welfare professionals are female.
"Alongside this, we are seeing the proportion of men in employment decrease over time, while for women it is increasing," census program manager Bindi Kindermann said.
The census also allows us to see levels of employment along cultural lines.
The highest levels of employment were among residents born in Nepal, with four out of five adults employed at the time of the census, followed by 76 per cent of migrants from Zimbabwe, 73 per cent from Brazil, 72 per cent from South Africa and 71 per cent from Canada.
with Peter Martin
