The construction industry in Australia experienced the fastest growth of any industry in the June quarter 2018 according to the new figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 

Overall, the number of filled jobs grew by 0.8 per cent or 117,000, with the construction industry increasing to approximately 50,000. 

“The rate of growth in filled jobs in the construction industry was 4.4 per cent, the fastest growth of any industry in the economy. This resulted in a 9.1 per cent growth in filled jobs through the year,” ABS Chief Economist Bruce Hockman said. 

The construction industry includes building construction, engineering construction and construction services, and represents 8.3 per cent of all filled jobs. 

The 50,000 figure from June quarter placed construction as the fourth biggest industry in the economy, providing more than 1.1 million jobs. 

Only health care and social assistance, retail trade and accommodation and food services industries recorded more filled jobs than construction. 

“Over the past five years health care and social assistance has remained the largest contributor to the number of jobs in the Australian economy,” Mr Hockman said. 

However, while the Australian labour force experienced a satisfactory job growth, the number of hours worked decreased by 0.5 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms. 

This was consistent with the previous labour indicators that showed higher growth in part-time employment compared to full-time.