In my previous post I compared the shares of employed people in different occupations across states and territories: Professionals’ share of employment much lower in Qld than in southern states. Based on several questions I’ve had regarding that post, I thought readers might be interested in the plot below of trends in occupational employment shares in Queensland and the rest of Australia (ROA) over the last thirty years. The long-term trend away from traditional factory and industrial employment and toward employment in the services sector is apparent. There are long-term declines in the shares of labourers, machinery operators and drivers, and technicians and trades workers, while those of professionals and community and personal service workers (a broad group including enrolled nurses, child care workers, hospitality workers, etc) have increased. The share of total employed persons classified as clerical and administrative workers has declined, obviously due to the widespread adoption of information technology.