The bar chart illustrates the number of people employed in five sectors—Sales, Accounting, Computing, Nursing, and Farming—in a region of Australia in 2001 and 2008.
Overall, the sales sector employed the highest number of people in both years, while farming accounted for the smallest workforce. Over the period, employment in Computing and Nursing experienced significant growth, whereas the number of workers in Accounting and Farming declined slightly.
In 2001, approximately 155,000 people were employed in Sales, making it the dominant sector. This figure increased marginally to 160,000 in 2008. Computing, which initially employed around 60,000 workers in 2001, saw substantial growth, reaching 80,000 by 2008, making it the second-largest sector that year. Similarly, employment in Nursing rose significantly from 55,000 to 65,000, equaling the number of Accounting professionals in 2008.
On the other hand, Accounting, which had about 65,000 employees in 2001, experienced a slight decline to 60,000 in 2008. Farming saw the sharpest decrease, with employment dropping from 30,000 in 2001 to 20,000 in 2008, making it the smallest sector across both years.
In summary, while Sales remained the largest sector throughout the period, Farming saw a marked decline, and Computing and Nursing grew significantly in their workforce.