UNEMPLOYMENT

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In 2009, the unemployment rate for the Indigenous population was 18%, with an estimated 35,400 unemployed Indigenous people aged 15 years and over. The unemployment rate increased 4 percentage points from the estimate for 2008 (14%)

The unemployment rate for Indigenous people was 19% in Major Cities, 20% in Regional areas, and 10% in Remote areas. However, estimates of unemployment for Remote areas should be used with great care as they were subject to high sampling errors. In addition, Remote areas generally have an underdeveloped labour market and this was reflected in the low number of Indigenous people actively looking for work and therefore not classified as unemployed.




Between 2008 and 2009, estimates for Indigenous unemployment significantly increased from 27,100 to 35,400 (30% growth). This was driven by increases of 9,300 to 13,500 in Major cities (45% growth), and 14,500 to 18,100 in Regional areas (25%). Females accounted for 62% of the growth in unemployment in Major cities, while males accounted for all of the increased unemployment in Regional areas, offset by a small decrease in female unemployment. Estimates of unemployment in remote areas also increased, but were within standard movement errors and were not statistically significant.


For more detailed estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander unemployment, refer to Tables 1 to 5 (available in Downloads).

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