This page provides data on key work and economic resources indicators for the City of Boroondara, including employment type, volunteering, and businesses and business owners.
This page is designed to complement the information available from our City of Boroondara Economic Profile. See the Boroondara Community Profile page for more information about:
Employment status
In the 2016 Census, Boroondara's resident labour force (people aged over 15 years who are employed, or who are unemployed and looking for work) was 87,096 people (52.1% of the total population).
Figure 1 shows females are less likely to work full-time (27.7% of all females compared to 48.1% of all males), and more likely to work part-time (27.1% of all females compared to 15.9% of all males), or to not be in the labour force (38.6% of all females compared to 27.8% of all males).
Figure 1: Employment status, by gender (Source: ABS, 2016 Census)
Males are more likely to work full-time in every stage of life, however the gap widens from age 35 to 44 years where 78.3% of all males are working full-time compared to 37.5% of all females (see Table 1).
Table 1: Employment status, by age group and gender (Source: ABS, 2016 Census)
|
Male age group |
Employed, worked full-time |
Employed, worked part-time |
Not employed and looking for work |
Not in the labour force |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
15-19 years |
1.7% |
21.3% |
7.1% |
62.7% |
|
20-24 years |
22.4% |
37.3% |
8.1% |
24.2% |
|
25-34 years |
65.7% |
15.3% |
4.8% |
9.5% |
|
35-44 years |
78.3% |
8.6% |
3.2% |
6.7% |
|
45-64 years |
76.2% |
9.2% |
3.5% |
7.6% |
|
55-64 years |
57.9% |
14.7% |
3.7% |
20.0% |
|
65-74 years |
19.1% |
19.9% |
1.3% |
58.4% |
|
75 years and over |
2.8% |
5.9% |
0.2% |
90.9% |
|
Total males |
48.1% |
15.9% |
4.1% |
27.8% |
| Female age group | Employed, worked full time | Employed, worked part time | Not employed and looking for work | Not in the labour force |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
15-19 years |
1.0% |
29.1% |
6.3% |
57.3% |
|
20-24 years |
22.2% |
41.5% |
6.9% |
22.5% |
|
25-34 years |
53.8% |
22.2% |
4.2% |
15.5% |
|
35-45 years |
37.5% |
33.9% |
3.5% |
21.7% |
|
45-54 years |
38.2% |
35.1% |
3.1% |
20.6% |
|
55-64 years |
30.2% |
30.4% |
2.1% |
35.3% |
|
65-74 years |
7.1% |
16.6% |
0.4% |
75.5% |
|
75 years and over |
0.4% |
2.0% |
0.1% |
97.5% |
|
Total females |
27.7% |
27.1% |
3.2% |
38.6% |
*percentages do not equal 100 as ‘not stated’, and ‘other’ are not shown
Residents' place of work and Boroondara's workforce place of residence
In the 2016 Census, 23,110 Boroondara residents reported that they worked in the City of Melbourne area (28.1% of all employed Boroondara residents), and 21,600 reported that they work locally within Boroondara (26.3%).
The number of people that work within Boroondara, including non-residents, is 71,353, which is 9,439 more people than in the 2011 Census results.
See the Boroondara Community Profile page for more information about:
Industry of employment and occupations
Figure 2 shows that the main industry for Boroondara residents in paid work is the professional, scientific and technical services industry (12,443 residents), followed by the health care and social assistance, and education and training industries (11,031 and 8,138 workers respectively). Retail trade and financial and insurance services round out the top five industries (7,767 and 5,944 workers respectively.)
The largest percentage increase in workers between 2001 and 2016 occurred in the rental, hiring and real estate services industry (24.2%) and the largest percentage decrease in the number of workers was in the wholesale trade industry (-25.7%).
Figure 2: Top five industries of employment for Boroondara residents (Source: ABS, 2016 Census)
In the 2016 Census, more than half the Boroondara residents in paid work were employed in managerial roles or as professionals. Overall, the top four professions were sales assistants and salespersons (4,580), school teachers (2,856), accountants, auditors and company secretaries (2,751), and medical practitioners 2,723).
See the Boroondara Community Profile page for more information about:
Businesses and business owners
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), there were 25,511 actively trading businesses in Boroondara at June 2017. Half of all businesses (50.3%) were in the following three industries:
- professional, scientific and technical services
- financial and insurance services.
- rental, hiring and real estate services.
Household Income
Boroondara is generally an affluent area with 43% of households in the 2016 Census reporting a weekly income that falls into the top quartile for Victoria ($2,395 and over). However, 8.4% of households reported a household income less than $400 per week and 17% of households have a weekly income of less than $740, the lowest income quartile for Victoria.
Table 2 shows the number of households in each suburb that reported a weekly income of less than $400. Hawthorn and Balwyn North had the highest number of households on $400 or less (2,056 and 2,010 respectively), followed by Kew (1,718), Balwyn (1,512), Camberwell (1,479), Hawthorn East (1,193), and Glen Iris (820). The remaining suburbs (Ashburton, Canterbury, Deepdene, Kew East, and Surrey Hills), all had less than 600 households reporting an income of $400 or less.
The suburbs where more than 10% of households reported incomes of less than $400 weekly were Balwyn (11.9%), Deepdene (11.4%), and Balwyn North (10.3%).
See the Boroondara Community Profile page for more information about:
Table 2: Number and percent of households that reported a weekly income less than $400, by suburb, 2016 Census (source: ABS, 2016 Census)
|
Suburb |
% of households |
No. of households |
|---|---|---|
|
Ashburton |
8.2% |
600 |
|
Balwyn |
11.9% |
1512 |
|
Balwyn North |
10.3% |
2010 |
|
Camberwell |
7.2% |
1479 |
|
Canterbury |
7.0% |
527 |
|
Deepdene |
11.4% |
218 |
|
Glen Iris |
5.2% |
820 |
|
Hawthorn |
9.7% |
2056 |
|
Hawthorn East |
8.9% |
1193 |
|
Kew |
7.7% |
1718 |
|
Kew East |
7.3% |
461 |
|
Surrey Hills |
6.4% |
498 |
Unpaid work and unpaid care
Unpaid domestic work includes food or drink preparation and cleaning, laundry, gardening, home maintenance and repairs, and household shopping and finance management. Information about unpaid domestic work is collected for people aged 15 years and over in the Census.
Figure 3 shows that females were more likely to spend more hours doing unpaid work. Around 30% of females reported doing more than 15 hours of unpaid domestic work per week compared to 8.5% of males. For males, the most often reported range of hours of unpaid domestic work done was less than five hours (35.5%), followed by 5-14 hours (27.5%), and nil hours (22.5%).
Figure 3: Unpaid domestic work performed by Boroondara residents by gender (Source: ABS, 2016 Census)
Residents aged 65 to 74 years reported doing more hours per week of unpaid domestic work than any other age group (33% doing more than 15 hours per week). Young people aged 15 to 24, and 25 to 34 years, reported doing the least unpaid domestic work (98% and 90% respectively doing less than 15 hours per week (see Table 2).
Table 2: Unpaid hours of domestic work undertaken by Boroondara residents, by age group (Source: ABS, 2016 Census)
|
Number of hours |
15-24 |
25-34 |
35-44 |
45-54 |
55-64 |
65-74 |
75+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nil |
37% |
21% |
11% |
11% |
13% |
17% |
31% |
|
Less than 5 |
50% |
41% |
26% |
23% |
22% |
18% |
15% |
|
5 to 14 |
12% |
29% |
34% |
37% |
38% |
32% |
26% |
|
15 to 29 |
1% |
6% |
15% |
18% |
18% |
21% |
17% |
|
30 or more |
0% |
4% |
13% |
11% |
9% |
12% |
11% |
|
Total |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
In general, females were more likely to have spent time caring for a child or children (under 15 years) without pay in the two weeks prior to Census night 2016 (30% compared to 25% for males).
Figure 4 shows that this was consistent across all age groups, with the biggest differences in rates of care occurring among residents aged 35 to 44 years (57.5% of males compared to 67.9% of females), and 65 to 74 years (24.4% of males compared to 34.9% of females).
One exception is the 45 to 54 years age group where males and females generally spent a similar amount time caring for children, a trend also apparent for Greater Melbourne. This is also the age group at which almost one in four women provide unpaid assistance to someone with a disability, long-term illness or problems related to old age.
Figure 4: Unpaid childcare provided by Boroondara residents, by age group and gender (Source: ABS, 2016 Census)
Figure 5 shows that across all age groups except over 85 years, females were more likely to have spent time providing unpaid care, help or assistance to someone with a disability, a long-term illness or problems related to old age during the two weeks prior to the 2016 Census night. Both males and females were most likely to provide care to someone with a disability when they were aged 55 to 65 years (17.9% of males and 26.4% of females).
Figure 5: Unpaid care provided to a person with a disability by Boroondara residents, by age group and gender of carer (Source: ABS, 2016 Census)
Volunteering
Slightly more than a quarter of Boroondara residents aged 15 years or over reported that they had done unpaid voluntary work through an organisation or group in the 12 months prior to Census night 2016 (26.0%), a rate higher than in Greater Melbourne (17.6%).
Figure 6 shows the groups most likely to report being a volunteer were females aged 45 to 54 years (33.4%), females aged 15 to 19 years (32.5%), and females aged 35 to 44 years (31.2%). In all ages up to 65 years, females are more likely to volunteer however from age 65 years onwards, males are more likely to volunteer.
Figure 6: Proportion of Boroondara residents who volunteer, by age group and gender (Source: ABS, 2016 Census)
Economic disadvantage
Although a generally affluent city, Boroondara is also a place of socioeconomic diversity.
The ABS Index of Economic Resources (IER) focuses on the financial aspects of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage, by summarising variables related to income and wealth from the Census.
This index excludes education and occupation variables because they are not direct measures of economic resources. It also misses some assets such as savings or equities which, although relevant, could not be included because this information was not collected in the 2016 Census (ABS 2018).
A low score indicates a relative lack of access to economic resources in general. A high score indicates relatively greater access to economic resources in general.
Figure 7 shows the IER score for each suburb in Boroondara. Hawthorn, Hawthorn East, and Balwyn have a relative lower access to economic resources than other suburbs in the municipality. On the other end of the rankings, Canterbury, Surrey Hills, and Glen Iris have a relatively higher access to economic resources than the other suburbs.
Figure 7: Ranking of Boroondara suburbs score on the Index of Economic Resources (Source: ABS 2018, State Suburb (SSC) Index of Economic Resources, 2016)
The number of people who receive a Department of Social Services Centrelink payment can be also be used as an indicator of disadvantage in the community and/or an ageing population. Table 3 shows the number of residents receiving selected Centrelink payments in June 2019 and June 2020. While some payments have gone down in number, payments such as Health Care Card, Youth Allowance, Commonwealth Rent Assistance and JobSeeker Payment (Newstart previously) have seen significant increase. Such increases are likely caused by effects of COVID-19 pandemic
Table 3: Number of Boroondara residents receiving selected Centrelink payment (Source: Department of Social Services, DSS Payment Demographic Data)
|
Payment types |
June 2019 |
June 2020 |
|---|---|---|
|
Age pension |
8,735 |
8,606 |
|
Carer allowance |
1,900 |
1,702 |
|
Carer payment |
373 |
390 |
|
Commonwealth Seniors Health Card |
5,182 |
5,247 |
|
Disability Support Pension |
2,008 |
2,026 |
|
Family Tax Benefit A |
2,958 |
2,931 |
|
Family Tax Benefit B |
2,194 |
2,173 |
|
Health Care Card |
6,197 |
11,302 |
|
Low Income Card |
1,883 |
1,402 |
|
Pensioner Concession Card |
12,685 |
12,910 |
|
Youth Allowance (student and apprentice) |
1,932 |
2,518 |
| Commonwealth Rent Assistance | 3,839 | 5,997 |
|
Newstart Allowance (2019) JobSeeker Payment (2020) |
1,231 |
4,850 |
Further information
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