The health care and social services sectors now employ more people than any other industry in Australia.

Results from the 2011 Australian Census released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show 11.6 per cent of Australians are working in health care and community services.

They include doctors, nurses, dentists, child care workers and aged care providers.

There has been a decline in the number of people working in the traditional fields of manufacturing and retail.

At the 2006 census, retail trade was the primary industry of employment in Australia.

It is now second, accounting for 10.5 per cent of employment in 2011.

Census executive director Andrew Henderson says the change reflects a slower growth rate in the retail sector.

Mining saw the biggest growth, with the sector now accounting for 1.8 per cent of Australia's employment.

"Not surprisingly, the results have shown a 65.2 per cent, or 69,667 people, increase in the proportion of people who reported mining as their industry of employment," Mr Henderson said.

University education

There has been a jump in the number of people choosing to study at university.

Since the 2006 Census the number of people completing postgraduate degrees has increased by 52,8 per cent to more than 631,000.

More than 2.3 million people completed a bachelor degree, up 27.2 per cent.

The most popular degrees were in management and commerce (18 per cent) and engineering and related technologies (15.6 per cent).

Mr Henderson says those fields were also the most popular in 2006.

"However there has been an increase in the proportion of people who reported management and commerce related studies, while the proportion of people who reported engineering and related technologies studies has declined," Mr Henderson said.

More than three-quarters of those studying health or education were female.

Indigenous study

There has also been an increase in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students completing secondary school.

More than 13 per cent of Indigenous students finished secondary school in 2011, up from 11.3 per cent in 2006.

The number of Indigenous people completing certificate III and IV qualifications, or a bachelor degree is also up.

More than 17 per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce are employed as labourers.

That is down from 23.7 per cent in 2006.

Community services was the next most common area of employment.

Travelling to work

There has been no change in the number of people driving to and from work over the past five years.

Around 60 per cent of people use their car as their primary method of transport.

Figures for other types of transport also remain largely unchanged.

Less than 5 per cent of people walk or ride to work, and only around 8 per cent exclusively use public transport.