There are about 66,000 employers that operate in the hospitality sector. Most of these are small businesses, with less than 12% employing more than 20 people.
The biggest sector within hospitality is cafes and restaurants, with 32,000 businesses, followed by takeaway food services with 18,000 businesses.
The sectors within the industry with the highest number of businesses employing more than 20 people are pubs, taverns and bars (4,600 businesses, 28% more than 20 employees) and clubs (2,500 businesses, 27% more than 20).
Source: ABS, Counts of Australian Businesses, Jun 2012 to Jun 2016
There are about 824,000 people in Australia employed in the hospitality sector. This number is expected to rise by 12% to 923,000 by 2020. 567,000 people work in cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services.
Source: Department of Jobs and Small Business Industry Projections - Five Years to November 2020.