Accounting remains one of the ‘most common occupations’ over 10-year stint: KPMG

Research from KPMG Australia has labelled accounting as one of the most common occupations, despite widespread coverage that the profession is on a rapid decline.

The research highlighted the fastest-growing jobs, the jobs steadily declining and the most common occupations over a 10-year period from 2014 to 2024.

The research revealed accountants and bookkeepers remained two of the most common occupations, with a 5.3 per cent growth rate over this period from 420,400 to 442,800.

The most common occupations in 2024 included retail shop floor workers, food service workers, nurses, midwives, teachers and aged/disabled care workers.

Terry Rawnsley, urban economist at KPMG, said accountants remaining common across the workforce showed it was an “indispensable role integral to daily lives”.

“Tech and IT professionals and accountants and bookkeepers are amongst the largest occupational groupings which highlights the importance of white-collar workers in the economy,” he said.

“These trends paint a picture of the evolving Australian job market, reflecting broader economic and societal shifts and the influence of technological advancements on employment patterns.”

According to the analysis, care economy jobs in healthcare and childcare dominated the list of the fastest-growing occupations, in addition to an upsurge of tech and IT professionals, marketers, HR professionals, chefs, cooks and delivery drivers.

Based on the digitisation of the economy, the occupations that saw the largest decline over the 10-year period included executive assistants, travel agents and farmers as they shifted away from family-run farms to larger farming operations.

The analysis demonstrated that the total number of workers in Australia had increased by 22.9 per cent between 2014 and 2024 from 11.4 million to 14.0 million.

The top 10 growing occupational groupings accounted for over 1 million new workers, which represented almost 40 per cent of all growth.

Rawnsley said the surge observed in care economy occupations reflected a job market responding to Australia’s changing demographics.

“As the older baby boomers enter their late 70s and early 80s, the need to rapidly expand aged care and related health services grows stronger. Meanwhile, increased participation of women in the workforce has meant the demand for childcare has similarly increased over the last decade,” he said.

“We are already seeing governments invest heavily in the aged care, disability support, and childcare sectors to meet future expected demand.”

For the occupations on the decline or “going extinct”, the number of executive assistants fell by more than 20 per cent to 82,3000 over the period due to the automation of administrative functions and platforms.

Travel agents also took a heavy hit, with a 35 per cent decline as travel websites took off and production of books, newspapers, and magazines slowed.

Within the 10-year study period, a significant increase in the number of jobs in the personal care and mental health sectors was also revealed.

The number of fitness instructors grew by 32 per cent, nutritional professionals increased by 50 per cent and an additional 24,7000 psychologists entered the workforce.

“Australians are increasingly prioritising their personal well-being and are willing to employ professionals to support them,” Rawnsley said.

“Similarly, a deeper awareness of mental health has led to more demand for psychologists and counsellors. With jobs that have been seen to decline, while traditional roles are naturally impacted by the digital transformation occurring in the workplace, tech sector growth opens up a vast array of exciting new jobs.”