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GLOSSARY

Active steps taken to find work

Active steps taken by unemployed people in their search for work during the current period of unemployment include:

• wrote, phoned or applied in person to an employer for work
• answered an advertisement for a job in a newspaper
• answered an advertisement for a job on the Internet
• answered an advertisement for a job on Centrelink touchscreens
• answered an advertisement for a job on workplace noticeboards
• contacted friends or relatives
• advertised or tendered for work
• registered with a Job Network employment agency
• registered with other employment agency
• registered with Centrelink as a job seeker.

All difficulties in finding work experienced by unemployed people during the current period of unemployment.

All steps taken to find work

All steps taken by unemployed people in their search for work during the current period of unemployment.

All steps taken to attain a job

All steps taken to attain a job by people who started their current job in the previous 12 months. Refers to steps taken to attain a job, not necessarily the current job.

Bachelor Degree or above

Bachelor Degree or above includes qualifications at the Post Graduate Degree Level, Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate Level and Bachelor Degree Level.

Centrelink

Centrelink is a statutory authority responsible for delivering a range of Commonwealth Government services, including the registration of people for job search assistance and income support.

Certificate not further defined

Survey responses are coded to Certificate not further defined (n.f.d.) when there is not enough information to code them to Certificate I, II, III or IV in the Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), 2001 (cat. no. 1272.0), Level of Education classification.

Contributing family workers

People who work without pay, in an economic enterprise operated by a relative.

Current job

A job that a person is currently working in has lasted or is likely to last for a period of two weeks or more. For people who have commenced more than one job in the previous 12 months, it is the job most recently started.

Duration of current period of unemployment

The period of time from when an unemployed person began looking for work, until the end of the reference week; or the period of time since an unemployed person last worked in any job for two weeks or more, until the end of the reference week; whichever was the shorter period. Brief periods of work (of less than two weeks) since the person began looking for work are disregarded.

Duration of looking for work before current job

The number of weeks or years that employed people were looking for work before being offered their current job or starting their own business. For employed people who had worked before, it includes any time they were looking for work before leaving their previous employer.

Employed

People aged 15 years and over who, during the reference week:

• worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind, in a job or business or on a farm (comprising employees, employers and own account workers); or
• worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (i.e. contributing family workers); or
• were employees who had a job but were not at work and were:
  • away from work for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week; or
  • away from work for more than four weeks up to the end of the reference week and received pay for some or all of the four week period to the end of the reference week; or
  • away from work as a standard work or shift arrangement; or
  • on strike or locked out; or
  • on workers' compensation and expected to return to their job; or
• were employers or own account workers who had a job, business or farm, but were not at work.

People who work for a public or private employer and receive remuneration in wages, salary, a retainer fee from their employer while working on a commission basis, tips, piece rates, or payment in kind, or people who operate their own incorporated enterprise with or without hiring employees.

Employers

People who operate their own unincorporated economic enterprise or engage independently in a profession or trade, and hire one or more employees.

Employment type in current job

Classifies employed people according to the following categories on the basis of their current job:

• Employees (excluding OMIEs)
  • With paid leave entitlements
  • Without paid leave entitlements
• Owner managers of incorporated enterprises
• Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises
• Contributing family workers.

For this survey, employment type in main job classifies employed people according to the following categories on the basis of their main job (that is, the job in which the most hours were usually worked):

• Employees (excluding owner managers of incorporated enterprises OMIEs)
• Owner managers of incorporated enterprises
• Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises
• Contributing family workers.

Refers to employees (excluding OMIEs) who had never worked for two weeks or more before starting their current job.

Full-time workers

Employed people who usually worked 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs) and others who, although usually working less than 35 hours a week, worked 35 hours or more during the reference week.

Had worked before

Refers to employees (excluding OMIEs) who had worked before and were either out of work or changed their employer before starting their current job.

Incorporated enterprise

An enterprise which is registered as a separate legal entity to its members or owners (also known as a limited liability company).

Industry

An industry is a group of businesses or organisations that undertake similar economic activities to produce both goods and services. In this publication, industry refers to ANZSIC Division as classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (cat. no. 1292.0).

Job leavers

Unemployed people who have worked for two weeks or more in the past two years and left that job voluntarily, for example, because of unsatisfactory work arrangements/pay/hours; the job was a holiday job or they left the job to return to studies; or their last job was running their own business and they closed down or sold that business for reasons other than financial difficulties.

Job losers

Unemployed people who have worked for two weeks or more in the past two years and left that job involuntarily, that is, were laid off or retrenched from that job; left that job because of their own ill-health or injury; the job was seasonal or temporary; or their last job was running their own business and the business closed down because of financial difficulties.

Job Network employment agency

The Job Network is a national network of private, community and government organisations on contract to the government to provide employment placement services to the community. Job seekers who are registered with Centrelink for job search assistance are able to contact any Job Network provider in their area to receive this service.

Job starters

Employed people who started their current job in the previous 12 months.

Level of highest educational attainment

Level of highest educational attainment identifies the highest achievement a person has attained in any area of study. It is not a measurement of the relative importance of different fields of study but a ranking of qualifications and other educational attainments regardless of the particular area of study or the type of institution in which the study was undertaken. See Appendix 1 for an explanation of how highest level is derived.

Level of highest non-school qualification

Non-school qualifications are awarded for educational attainments other than those of pre-primary, primary or secondary education. They include qualifications at the Post Graduate Degree level, Master Degree level, Graduate Diploma and Graduate Certificate level, Bachelor Degree level, Advanced Diploma and Diploma level, and Certificates I, II, III and IV levels. Non-school qualifications may be attained concurrently with school qualifications.

Long-term unemployed

People whose duration of current period unemployment is 12 months or more.

Main difficulty in finding work

The main difficulty in finding work experienced during the current period of unemployment.

Main English-speaking countries

The list of main English-speaking countries provided here is not an attempt to classify countries on the basis of whether or not English is the predominant or official language of each country. It is a list of the main countries from which Australia receives, or has received, significant numbers of overseas settlers who are likely to speak English. These countries comprise the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and the United States of America.

Main job

The job in which most hours are usually worked.

Mean duration of current period of unemployment

The duration obtained by dividing the aggregate number of weeks a group has been unemployed by the number of people in that group.

Median duration of current period of unemployment

The duration which divides unemployed people into two groups of equal size, one comprising people whose duration of unemployment is above the mid point, and the other, people whose duration is below it.

Number of offers of employment

The number of separate offers of employment received during the current period of unemployment.

Number of spells of looking for work in the previous 12 months

The number of times people reported being out of work and looking for a job during the 12 months up to the end of the reference week.

Occupation

An occupation is a collection of jobs that are sufficiently similar in their title and tasks, skill level and skill specialisation which are grouped together for the purposes of classification. In this publication occupation refers to Major Group as defined by ANZSCO - Australian Standard Classification of Occupations, First Edition, 2006 (cat. no. 1220.0).

Own account workers

People who operate their own unincorporated economic enterprise or engaged independently in a profession or trade, and hired no employees.

Owner managers

People who work in their own business, with or without employees, whether or not the business is an incorporated enterprise. Comprises owner managers of incorporated enterprises and owner managers of unincorporated enterprises.

Owner managers of incorporated enterprises (OMIE)

People who work in their own incorporated enterprise, that is, a business entity which is registered as a separate legal entity to its members or owners (also known as a limited liability company). These people are classified as employees under 'status in employment'.

Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises

People who operate their own unincorporated enterprise, that is, a business entity in which the owner and the business are legally inseparable, so that the owner is liable for any business debts that are incurred. Includes those engaged independently in a trade or profession. These people are classified as employers under 'status in employment' if their business has employees, or own account worker if they do not.

Part-time workers

Employed people who usually worked less than 35 hours a week (in all jobs) and who either did so during the reference week, or were not at work in the reference week.

Preferred number of hours

The number of hours unemployed people would like to work each week.

Status in employment

Employed people classified by whether they were employees, employers, own account workers or contributing family workers.

Time spent looking for work in the previous 12 months

The total number of weeks a person has been both out of work and looking for work at the same time during the 12 months up to the end of the reference week.

Unemployed

People aged 15 years and over who were not employed during the reference week, and:

• had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and were available for work in the reference week; or
• were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference week, and could have started in the reference week if the job had been available then.

Unemployed people who:

• actively looked for full-time work and were available for work in the reference week; or
• were not available for work in the reference week because they were waiting to start a new full-time job.

Unemployed people who:

• actively looked for part-time work only and were available for work in the reference week; or
• were not available for work in the reference week because they were waiting to start a new part-time job.

Employed people who usually worked 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs).

Usually worked part-time hours

Employed people who usually worked less than 35 hours a week (in all jobs).

Whether had prior knowledge that job was available

Whether employed people knew that a job was available with their current employer before making an approach to that employer for a job.

Whether had ever worked for two weeks or more

Whether unemployed people had previously held a job lasting two weeks or more.

Whether out of work prior to starting job

Whether employed people were not employed immediately prior to starting their current job.

Whether preferred to work more hours than usually worked

Whether employed people who usually worked part-time hours, preferred to work more hours.

With paid leave entitlements

The entitlement of employees (excluding OMIEs) to either paid holiday leave or paid sick leave (or both) in their current job. People employed in their own business or who were contributing family workers were not asked questions about paid leave entitlements.

Without paid leave entitlements

Employees (excluding OMIEs) who were not entitled to paid holiday leave and paid sick leave, or did not know whether they were entitled to paid sick leave and paid holiday leave in their current job.