2015 Manufacturing Industry Outlook

Manufacturing is the fifth largest employing industry in Australia, employing 918,400 people (or 7.9 per cent of the total workforce) as at February 2015. Although the Manufacturing industry remains a large employing industry, the last decade has seen the continuation of an ongoing decline in its share of employment in Australia. Employment in the Manufacturing industry has declined by 114,900 (or 11.1 per cent) over the 10 years to February 2015, one of only three industries to experience a fall in employment over the period (the other two being Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing and Information Media and Telecommunications).

A high Australian dollar, subdued global growth, competitive pressures and lower consumer confidence have seen employment in the industry fall by 65,200 (or 6.6 per cent) over the five years to February 2015.

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