6105.0 - Australian Labour Market Statistics, Apr 2004  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 02/04/2004   
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FEATURE ARTICLE - JOB SEARCH EXPERIENCE: METHODS AND BARRIERS IN FINDING JOBS
FEATURE ARTICLE - SPOTLIGHT ON COUNTRY OF BIRTH
FEATURE ARTICLE -SPOTLIGHT ON METHODS OF SETTING PAY
FEATURE ARTICLE - SPOTLIGHT ON MULTIPLE JOB HOLDERS
FEATURE ARTICLE - SPOTLIGHT ON OCCUPATION
FEATURE ARTICLE - SPOTLIGHT ON PARENTAL LEAVE
FEATURE ARTICLE - TECHNICAL REPORT: IMPROVEMENTS TO LABOUR FORCE ESTIMATES
FEATURE ARTICLE - TRADE UNION MEMBERSHIP


Notes

Changes in this issue

Labour Force Survey estimates for prior periods have been revised using updated population benchmarks based on results from the 2001 Census of Population and Housing, and incorporating a minor change to the definition of unemployed persons. See Technical Report: Improvements to labour force estimates in this issue.



Data contained in this issue

The statistics shown are the latest available at 22 March 2004. Data sources for the tables in this publication are listed in Appendix 1.



Electronic products

The spreadsheets and data cubes referenced in this publication are available on the ABS web site at https://www.abs.gov.au. Follow the links to Data Cubes and Time Series Spreadsheets.

Inquiries

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Erika Maxim on Canberra 02 6252 7636.



Labour Market Summary


Key measures

% change from
Measure
Series type
Period
Current figure
Previous quarter(a)
Previous year(b)

Employed
Persons'000
Trend
Feb 2004
9,580.9
0.5
1.2
Full-time'000
Trend
Feb 2004
6,858.8
0.5
1.8
Part-time'000
Trend
Feb 2004
2,722.1
0.3
-0.2
Part-time employment as a proportion of total employment%
Trend
Feb 2004
28.4
(c)0.0
(c)-0.4
Unemployed
Persons'000
Trend
Feb 2004
585.8
-0.2
-6.4
Looking for full-time work'000
Trend
Feb 2004
424.2
-1.2
-9.2
Looking for part-time work'000
Trend
Feb 2004
161.7
2.4
2.0
Unemployment rate
Persons%
Trend
Feb 2004
5.8
(c)0.0
(c)-0.4
Long-term unemployment
Persons'000
Trend
Feb 2004
120.7
-2.2
-10.5
As a proportion of total unemployment%
Trend
Feb 2004
20.6
(c)-0.4
(c)-0.9
Labour force underutilisation rate(d)%
Original
Sep 2002
11.9
na
(c)-0.6
Extended labour force underutilisation rate(d)%
Original
Sep 2002
13.0
na
(c)-0.6
Proportion of children living in families where no parent is employed (of all children)(e)%
Original
Jun 2003
17.2
na
(c)-0.7
Labour force participation rate
Persons%
Trend
Feb 2004
63.5
(c)0.0
(c)-0.5
Actual hours worked
Aggregate weekly hoursmill. hours
Original
Feb 2004
336.4
1.7
1.2
Average weekly hours - Personshours
Original
Feb 2004
35.3
1.7
0.3
Average weekly hours - Full-timehours
Original
Feb 2004
42.3
1.0
-0.1
Average weekly hours - Part-timehours
Original
Feb 2004
16.9
2.6
2.3
Part-time workers
Proportion who preferred to work more hours%
Original
Feb 2004
26.5
(c)-1.0
(c)-1.3
Wage cost index
Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonusesindex no.
Trend
Dec qtr 2003
122.6
0.9
3.6
Average weekly earnings
Full-time adult ordinary time earnings$
Trend
Nov 2003
939.60
1.1
5.7
All employees total earnings$
Trend
Nov 2003
744.50
1.3
5.6
Compensation of employees
Household income account$m
Trend
Dec qtr 2003
93,763
1.0
5.3
Average earnings (National Accounts basis - nominal) per week$
Trend
Dec qtr 2003
887
1.0
3.5
Industrial disputes
Working days lost'000
Original
Dec qtr 2003
151.4
-8.9
117.5
Working days lost per 1,000 employeesnumber
Original
Dec qtr 2003
18.2
-9.8
119.6
Job vacancies
Australia'000
Trend
Nov 2003
104.6
-0.6
1.2

na not available
(a) Same period previous quarter (monthly data is presented for the middle month of each quarter).
(b) Same period previous year.
(c) Change is in percentage points.
(d) See table 4.1 or the Glossary for further explanation of labour underutilisation rates.
(e) Children are aged under 15 years. See the Explanatory Notes for information on family data.


Employment: trend series
Full-time and total employment
Graph: Trend full-time and total employment
Males and females
Graph: Trend employment for males and females




Part-time employment: trend series
Proportion of total employment, Males
Graph: Trend male part-time employment as a proportion of total male employment
Proportion of total employment, Females
Graph: Trend female part-time employment as a proportion of total female employment




Unemployment rate: trend series
Males and females
Graph: Trend unemployment rate for males and females




Long-term unemployment: trend series
Proportion of total unemployment
Graph: Long-term unemployment as a proportion of total unemployment, males and females




Underutilised labour
Labour underutilisation rates—1994–2002
Graph: Labour underutilisation rates, 1994 to 2002




Participation rate: trend series
Persons
Graph: Trend participation rate
Males
Graph: Trend participation rate of males
Females
Graph: Trend participation rate of females




Wage cost index: trend series
Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses, Quarterly change
Graph: Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses Quarterly change




Average weekly earnings: trend series
Full-time adult ordinary time earnings, Quarterly change
Graph: Quarterly change in full-time adult ordinary time earnings
All employees total earnings, Level
Graph: All employees total earnings, level




Industrial disputes: original series
Working days lost, Quarter ending
Graph: Quarterly working days lost




Job vacancies: trend series
Job vacancies, By sector
Graph: Job vacancies by sector


Labour statistics news


Labour theme page

The ABS Labour Theme Page, available on the ABS web site, provides a guide to the range of ABS labour statistics, as well as links to the latest data released. To find the Theme Page, go to https://www.abs.gov.au (Themes - Labour).



ABS email notification service

By subscribing to this free service, you will be kept informed via email of the latest releases of ABS products. To subscribe, follow the link from the ABS home page https://www.abs.gov.au, provide your email address, and select your topics of interest.



Changes to LFS unit record data

The ABS introduced a number of changes to labour force statistics with the release of February 2004 LFS data. These changes involved revisions to detailed original data at the unit record level which flowed through to published aggregated data. More information about these changes is available in Technical Report: Improvements to labour force estimates in this publication.



Implementation of computer assisted interviewing

In October 2003, the ABS began the progressive implementation of computer assisted interviewing (CAI) into the LFS. For the period October 2003 to January 2004 the CAI method was used on a random 10% sub-sample of survey interviews. The ABS had planned to increase the sub-sample of survey interviews conducted using the CAI method from 10% to 40% in February 2004. However, a number of technical problems have prevented this. The CAI sub-sample was increased from 10% to 40% in February 2004 in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory only. The effects of these technical problems may delay the full implementation of CAI.


Once the technical problems are resolved, subject to further analysis continuing to confirm that the change in method is not having a significant impact on survey estimates, the ABS intends to progressively increase the use of CAI. Users will continue to be informed of the progress of CAI implementation, including the results of further analyses, through updates in Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0).



Forthcoming changes to industrial disputes statistics

The December 2003 issue of Industrial Disputes, Australia (cat. no. 6321.0) is the final release of monthly statistics of industrial disputes. Statistics in this publication will continue to be available, but for a quarterly reference period. The printed publication will be replaced with a quarterly electronic publication (cat. no. 6321.0.55.001), commencing with the March quarter 2004 reference period. The quarterly publication will contain a small number of summary tables and will be available free from the ABS web site. More detailed data will continue to be available as electronic spreadsheets.


New classifications for Cause of Dispute and Reason Work Resumed (formerly Method of Settlement) will be introduced in the first quarterly publication. Data for the new classifications will be available for disputes which ended during the March quarter 2003 onwards. Further information is available from Colin Fallows on Perth 08 9360 5184.



Labour Costs

Results from the 2002-03 Survey of Major Labour Costs will be released in June 2004, in the electronic publication Labour Costs, Australia (cat. no. 6348.0.55.001). This survey provides estimates of labour costs including: employee earnings, employer-funded contributions to superannuation, workers' compensation, payroll tax and fringe benefits tax.



Regional wage and salary earner statistics

The electronic publication Characteristics of Wage and Salary Earners in Regions of Australia (cat. no. 6261.0.55.001) was released on 5 March 2004. This publication presents regional estimates of the characteristics of wage and salary earners for 2000-01 using the Remoteness Structure contained within the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), Volume 1, 2001 (cat. no. 1216.0). The estimates were compiled from the Australian Taxation Office's Individual Income Tax Return Database. This publication follows the release in December of Regional Wage and Salary Earner Statistics, Australia (cat. no. 5673.0.55.001), which used the same data source to produce estimates for wage and salary earners for Local Government Areas for 2000-01.



Supplementary surveys on labour topics

The Monthly Population Survey comprises the Labour Force Survey and supplementary surveys, which provide detailed information on a range of topics. Results from surveys on labour-related topics recently released were: Employee Earnings, Benefits and Trade Union Membership, Australia (cat. no. 6310.0); Persons Not in the Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6220.0); Underemployed Workers, Australia (cat. no. 6265.0); and Job Search Experience, Australia (cat. no. 6222.0). The first three of these releases are outlined in the recent release section of this publication. Also included is a feature article highlighting the data available from the Job Search Experience survey.

Upcoming statistical releases

Release date/title of publication
Reference period
Catalogue number

April 2004
Australian Labour Market Statistics
April 2004
6105.0
Indigenous Social Survey
2002
4714.0
Job Vacancies, Australia
February 2004
6354.0
Labour Force, Australia
March 2004
6202.0
Labour Force, Australia - Detailed Delivery
March 2004
6291.0.55.001
Measures of Australia's Progress
2004
1370.0
May 2004
Average Weekly Earnings, Australia
November 2003
6302.0
Labour Force, Australia
April 2004
6202.0
Labour Force, Australia - Detailed Delivery
April 2004
6291.0.55.001
Labour Statistics in Brief, Australia
2004
6104.0
Wage Cost Index, Australia
March quarter 2004
6345.0
June 2004
Industrial Disputes, Australia - electronic release
December 2003
6321.0.55.001
Labour Costs, Australia - electronic release
2002-03
6348.0.55.001
Labour Force, Australia
May 2004
6202.0
Labour Force, Australia - Detailed Delivery
May 2004
6291.0.55.001
Wage and Salary Earners, Public Sector, Australia
March quarter 2004
6248.0.55.001
July 2004
Australian Labour Market Statistics
July 2004
6105.0
Family Characteristics
June 2003
4442.0
Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia
2002-03
6523.0
Job Vacancies, Australia
May 2004
6354.0
Labour Force, Australia
June 2004
6202.0
Labour Force, Australia - Detailed Delivery
June 2004
6291.0.55.001