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The industry that's building Australia
Powering a stronger economy, creating jobs and opportunity, building better communities
Our industry
Australia’s building and construction industry building and construction is one of the largest sectors in Australia.
Latest ABS figures indicate that the total value of building and construction work done in the year ending March 2025 totalled $318.9 billion in value, an amount directly equivalent to 11.6 per cent of total GDP.
Our industry packs its biggest punch when it comes to the provision of full-time employment and support for small business.
During May 2025
There were 1.32 million people employed in the building and construction industry. This represents a 9 per cent share of all jobs across the economy. Over the previous 12 months, total construction employment fell by 2.5 per cent. About 85.3 per cent of these jobs were full-time in nature, a far higher proportion than in the rest of the economy. Construction consistently ranks among the top providers of full-time employment and is currently the fourth-largest in Australia.
During the 2023-24 financial year
It is estimated that construction businesses paid out a total of $93.9 billion in wages and salaries to their employees, with operating profits before tax in the industry amounting to $58 billion over the year. Industry turnover was $624.6 billion during 2023-24, a sum that includes sales from construction businesses to other construction businesses.
The most up-to-date ABS data indicate that as of 31st March 2025, there were a total of 457,117 construction businesses in operation across Australia. This is more than every other sector of the economy. The most striking feature of our industry’s construction businesses is their size: of the total, the overwhelming majority (98.6 per cent) are small in size, with less than 20 employees.
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Download our latest industry report
Master Builders Australia reports shows the current state of the industry.