Occupational prestige is an indicator of social class amenable to measurement. Dividing the workforce of Australia on the basis of occupational prestige gives a profile of the numbers in each of six occupational prestige categories. This exercise provides a norm for the Australian population and gives a basic prestige distribution for comparative purposes. Of particular interest for sociologists and social scientists generally is the shape of this profile. The top two categories are very small indeed; the third holds 15 per cent of the workforce; and 80 per cent of the workforce are in the lower half of this prestige hierarchy.
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