AUSTRALIA'S pharmacy workforce is continuing to grow throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with the latest data from the Pharmacy Board of Australia revealing 33,610 pharmacists hold general, provisional or limited registration.
The new figures for the third quarter show 31,794 pharmacists hold general registration, an increase of 100 compared with the Jun Quarter - 79 of whom were female.
While the workforce has grown modestly over the last quarter, the Board's data shows the number of pharmacists with general registration aged less than 30 years has fallen by 209 in the three months to 30 Sep, while the number of general registration holders aged 65 years and older increased by 67 in the same period.
The new figures also showed an increase in the number of non-practising pharmacists for the first time in 2020 (up by 12 to 970), after a significant decline in the non-practising registration numbers in the Jun Quarter (958) when it dipped to the lowest level since Mar 2014.
The 35-39 age category represented the largest group of non-practising pharmacists (165), while the 40-44 age bracket saw the largest increase in numbers over the quarter, climbing to 151 in Sep from 142 in Jun.
The profession's gender balance remained static in the Sep Quarter, with 62.7% of the profession female and 37.3% male.
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