The Health Care and Social Assistance industry employs the most people in Australia, followed by Retail Trade and Administrative & Support Services, driven by factors like an aging population and government funding for care services. Specific major employers within these sectors include large health networks, retail giants like Woolworths & Coles, and public sector roles.
Woolworths Group is Australia's largest employer, with a workforce of approximately 215,000 individuals.
Australia's biggest companies, based on market capitalization (value), consistently include mining giants like BHP Group, the "Big Four" banks (Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac, ANZ), healthcare leader CSL Limited, retail/industrial conglomerate Wesfarmers, and tech/finance firm Macquarie Group, alongside others like Fortescue Metals Group, Woolworths Group, and Telstra, though rankings shift with market conditions.
Industry Share of Output key sectors
Health and Education 13.9%, Finance 7.7%, Mining 9.9%, Manufacturing 5.7%, Construction 7.6%.
Walmart. Walmart remains the world's largest employer with about 2.1 million associates worldwide, per its FY2025 annual report and proxy; roughly 1.6 million are in the U.S., underscoring the retailer's unique scale in stores, e-commerce fulfilment and supply chain.
Today's Fortune Top 10 (2024)
Yes, $70k is a fair salary in Australia, often near the median income, making it a decent living for a single person, especially outside major cities, but it can be tight in expensive areas or for those with high living costs like mortgages, with full-time averages now closer to $90k-$100k.
Western Australia (WA) is generally considered Australia's richest state, consistently topping economic performance rankings due to its strong mining sector, high exports (especially iron ore), and significant economic growth, leading in metrics like Gross State Product (GSP) per capita and overall economic strength.
There aren't many of them, just 110,613 — 82,258 men and 28,355 women. Only 39,209 have taxable incomes of more than $500,000, and of these only 14,467 have taxable incomes of more than $1 million.
Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting has retained its crown as Australia's largest private company, as revenue for unlisted businesses surged over the past financial year.
Australia's top-paying jobs are dominated by specialized medical roles and senior executive/financial positions, with Surgeons, Anaesthetists, and Internal Medicine Specialists often leading the list, followed by high-level finance (like Financial Dealers) and leadership roles (like CEOs), according to data from sources like the ATO and recruitment agencies, showing averages well into the hundreds of thousands annually.
Australia's largest labour hire firms include global players like Hays, Randstad, Adecco, and ManpowerGroup, alongside major local operators such as WorkPac, Programmed Skilled Workforce, Chandler Macleod, and BLU, specializing in sectors from mining and construction to healthcare, offering extensive recruitment and workforce solutions.
Jobs paying $200k+ in Australia are common in specialized fields like Medicine (Surgeons, Anaesthetists, Specialists), Technology (Data Scientists, Cloud Engineers), Engineering, Executive Management (C-Suite, Directors), Law, and high-end Sales, with significant opportunities also in the Mining sector, alongside specialized roles in Finance, Construction Management, and Healthcare Administration, often requiring significant experience or niche skills.
Top five fastest growing U.S. occupations projections
Solar photovoltaic installers. Nurse practitioners. Data scientists. Information security analysts.
However, the "First World" is generally thought of as the capitalist, industrial, wealthy, and developed countries. This definition includes the countries of North America and Western Europe, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
According to ABS data, just 2.61 million Aussies – or about 10 per cent of the population – earn $100,000 or more a year. Many people will never reach a six-figure income in their working lives.
How to avoid paying higher-rate tax
The average Australian full-time worker is now earning more than $2000 a week for the first time in history. New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show the average ordinary full-time weekly earnings for adults hit $2011.40 before tax in May.
The VOC: Still the Biggest Ever
Founded in 1602, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) peaked at a valuation of over $10 trillion in today's dollars. Backed by government charters and global monopolies, the VOC controlled huge parts of the spice trade, giving it unmatched economic power in its time.
How Many Companies Have Achieved a $1 Trillion Valuation?
What is the Most Profitable Business of All Time?