6359.0 - Forms of Employment, Australia, Nov 2004  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 19/05/2005   
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APPENDIX 1 - Employment Classifications
APPENDIX 2 - Populations and Data Items List
APPENDIX 3 - Supplementary Surveys


APPENDIX 1 EMPLOYMENT CLASSIFICATIONS


INTRODUCTION

The ABS publishes statistics about people in different types of employment, and their working arrangements. These statistics are derived from a number of household surveys including the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Forms of Employment Survey (FOES). In these surveys, employed people are classified using categories which capture the essential nature of their employment arrangements.


This appendix describes how people are classified to different employment categories in FOES and compares these employment categories with the standard ABS status in employment classification.


FOES has been designed to examine the changing nature of the Australian labour market, to chart the emergence of different forms of employment, and to provide a source of information about people's working arrangements that are not effectively measured by existing classifications and definitions.



STATUS IN EMPLOYMENT

The LFS status in employment classification is a classification of employed persons, based on the International Labour Organisation's 1993 International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE). Within the ICSE, employed persons are allocated to five mutually exclusive categories according to the type of job held:

  • employees;
  • employers;
  • own account workers;
  • contributing family workers; and
  • members of producers' cooperatives.

The ABS adopts the broad level ICSE classification, but excludes the 'members of producers' cooperatives' category due to its lack of relevance to the Australian situation.


Below the broad level of classification, the ICSE is not prescriptive but gives some guidance on the more detailed types of employment situations that countries might be interested in identifying. Prior to FOES, the ABS had not attempted to identify more detailed categories, with the exception of its long-standing permanent/casual measure for employees.


The groups in the ABS status in employment classification are:

  • Employee: a person who works for a public or private employer and receives remuneration in wages, salary, a retainer fee by their employer while working on a commission basis, tips, piece-rates or payment in kind, or a person who operates his or her own incorporated enterprise with or without hiring employees.
  • Employer: a person who operates his or her own unincorporated economic enterprise or engages independently in a profession or trade, and hires one or more employees.
  • Own Account Worker: a person who operates his or her own unincorporated enterprise or engages independently in a profession or trade, and hires no employees.
  • Contributing Family Worker: a person who works without pay in an economic enterprise operated by a relative. This group was excluded from the FOES.

Use of the status in employment classification in the Labour Force Survey

The main source of regular status in employment statistics is the LFS, a large-scale household survey which yields official monthly estimates of employment and unemployment. Status in employment is determined largely on the basis of a person's perception of their relationship to the establishment or enterprise in which they work. It is expected that most people would be classified to an appropriate category using this approach. However, in cases where people's working arrangements are less clear-cut, more objective criteria may give different results.



EMPLOYMENT TYPES IN FORMS OF EMPLOYMENT SURVEY

The employment type classification used in FOES 2004 accords with the status in employment classification at the broad level. The following describes the ways in which the FOES employment classification expands on the existing status in employment classification used in the LFS.


The ICSE notes that while it is consistent with the System of National Accounts to classify people working in their own incorporated enterprise as employees (OMIEs), in many respects they have more in common with Owner managers, for example in terms of their authority in, and responsibility for, the business, and may be best classified this way for labour market analysis. In this publication OMIEs are presented as a separate category, as are Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises (OMUEs). Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises can be further classified into two groups: Employers (i.e. hires one or more employees); and Own account workers (i.e. hires no employees). It is important to note that on occasion these two populations (OMIEs and OMUEs) have been combined to create the group 'Owner managers'.


Employees (excluding OMIEs) were divided into categories according to their leave entitlements.


The four employment types that have been identified in FOES 2004 are:

  • Employees (excluding OMIEs) with paid leave entitlements;
  • Employees (excluding OMIEs) without paid leave entitlements;
  • Owner managers of incorporated enterprises; and
  • Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises.

The Conceptual Framework section of this publication describes how responses in the FOES were used to determine employment type.



APPENDIX 2 POPULATIONS AND DATA ITEMS LIST


DATA AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

The ABS has a range of data available on request from the Forms of Employment Survey. This section lists the data items and populations which relate to the survey. More detailed breakdowns of some data items may also be available on request. The population(s) for a particular data item refers to the person in the survey to whom the data item relates. Where alternative output categories are available for the same data item, these are shown and the data item name is followed by a bracketed numeral (e.g. Country of birth (2)).


For more information about ABS data available on request, contact Debbie Hansard on Canberra (02) 6252 7206, or by facsimile on (02) 6252 7512, or by email to <d.hansard@abs.gov.au>.


Population 1

Employees (excluding OMIEs) with paid leave entitlements


Population 2

Employees (excluding OMIEs) without paid leave entitlements


Population 3

Owner managers of incorporated enterprises


Population 4

Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises


Population 5

Employed persons

Data itemsPopulations

1State or Territory of usual residenceAll
New South Wales
Victoria
Queensland
South Australia
Western Australia
Tasmania
Northern Territory
Australian Capital Territory
2Area of usual residenceAll
State capital city
Balance of state/territory
3Region of usual residenceAll
Standard labour force dissemination regions
4SexAll
Males
Females
5Marital statusAll
Married
Not married
6Relationship in householdAll
Family member
Husband, wife or partner
With dependants
Without dependants
Lone parent
With dependants
Without dependants
Dependent student
Non-dependent child
Other family person
Non-family member
Lone person
Not living alone
Relationship not determined
7ACountry of birth and period of arrivalAll
Born in Australia
Born overseas
Arrived before 1971
Arrived 1971-1980
Arrived 1981-1990
Arrived 1991-2000
Arrived 2001 to survey date
Note: Year of arrival collected in single years
7BCountry of birth (1)All
Born in Australia
Born overseas
Born in main English-speaking countries
Born in other than main English-speaking countries
7CCountry of birth (2)All
Born in Australia
Born overseas
Oceania and Antarctica
North-West Europe
Southern and Eastern Europe
North Africa and the Middle East
South-East Asia
North-East Asia
Southern and Central Asia
Americas
Sub-Saharan Africa
Other
8Age group (years)All
15-19
20-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-59
60-64
65 and over
Note: Age collected in single years.
9Full-time or part-time statusAll
Full-time workers
Part-time workers
10OccupationAll
Managers and administrators
Professionals
Associate professionals
Tradespersons and related workers
Advanced clerical and service workers
Intermediate clerical, sales and service workers
Intermediate production and transport workers
Elementary clerical, sales and service workers
Labourers and related workers
11IndustryAll
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
Mining
Manufacturing
Electricity, gas and water supply
Construction
Wholesale trade
Retail trade
Accommodation, cafes and restaurants
Transport and storage
Communication services
Finance and insurance
Property and business services
Government administration and defence
Education
Health and community services
Cultural and recreational services
Personal and other services
12Whether has employees3,4
Not applicable
Has employees
Does not have employees
13Whether has paid leave entitlements in main job1,2
With paid leave entitlements
Without paid leave entitlements
Did not know
14Whether entitled to paid holiday leave1,2
Entitled to paid holiday leave
Not entitled to paid holiday leave
Did not know
15Whether entitled to paid sick leave1,2
Entitled to paid sick leave
Not entitled to paid sick leave
Did not know
16Whether entitled to long service leave1,2
Entitled to long service leave
Not entitled to long service leave
Did not know
17Whether entitled to paid maternity/paternity leave1,2
Entitled to paid maternity/paternity leave
Not entitled to paid maternity/paternity leave
Did not know
18Whether works on a contract basisAll
Works on a contract basis
Does not work on a contract basis
19Continuous duration with current employer or businessAll
Under 1 year
1-2 years
3-5 years
6-10 years
More than 10 years
20Reason expected duration with current employer or business less than 1 yearAll
Changing jobs/seeking other employment
Return to study/travel/family reasons
Retiring
Seasonal/temporary job/fixed contract
Employer/business closing down/downsizing
Other
21Whether employment has a set completion date or event1,2
Set completion date
Set completion event
No set completion date or event
22Length of set employment completion date or event1,2
Employment has a set completion date or event
Under 1 year
1-5 years
More than 5 years
Employment does not have a set completion date or event
23Whether works on a fixed-term contract1,2
Works on a fixed-term contract
Does not work on a fixed-term contract
24Whether expects contract to be renewed1,2
Expects contract to be renewed
Does not expect contract to be renewed
25Status in employmentAll
Employee (including OMIEs)
Employer
Own account worker
26Employment typeAll
Employee (excluding OMIEs)
With paid leave entitlements
Without paid leave entitlements
Owner managers of incorporated enterprises
Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises
27Hours worked in main job in the reference weekAll
Worked less than 35 hours
Less than 1 hour/no hours
1-15
16-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
Worked 35 hours or more
35
36-39
40
41-44
45-48
49 and over
28Educational attendanceAll
Currently a full-time student
Not currently a full-time student
Did not know
29Expected future duration with current employer or businessAll
Expects to be with current employer or business in 12 months
Does not expect to be with current employer or business in 12 months
30Whether considers job to be casual1,2
Considers job to be casual
Does not consider job to be casual

APPENDIX 3 SUPPLEMENTARY SURVEYS


SUPPLEMENTARY SURVEYS

The Monthly Population Survey program collects data on particular aspects of the labour force. The following is an historical list of supplementary surveys to the monthly labour force survey. Data from these surveys are available on request and can be obtained by contacting the ABS.

cat. no.
Frequency
Latest issue

Career Experience, Australia
6254.0
Irregular
November 2002
Career Paths of Persons with Trade Qualifications, Australia
6243.0
Discontinued
Final issue 1993
Child Care, Australia
4402.0
Irregular
June 2002
Education and Work, Australia
6227.0
Annual
May 2004
Employee Earnings, Benefits, and Trade Union Membership, Australia
6310.0
Annual
August 2004
Forms of Employment, Australia
6359.0
Irregular
November 2004
Job Search Experience, Australia
6222.0
Annual
July 2004
Labour Force Experience, Australia
6206.0
Biennial
February 2003
Labour Force Status and Educational Attainment, Australia
6235.0
Discontinued
Final issue 1994
Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Families, Australia(a)
6224.0
Discontinued
Final issue 2000
Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Migrants, Australia
6250.0
Irregular
November 1999
Labour Mobility, Australia
6209.0
Biennial
February 2004
Locations of Work, Australia
6275.0
Irregular
June 2000
Multiple Jobholding, Australia(b)
6216.0
Irregular
August 1997
Participation in Education, Australia
6272.0
Discontinued
Final issue 1999
Persons Not in the Labour Force, Australia
6220.0
Annual
September 2004
Persons Who had Re-entered the Labour Force, Australia
6264.0.40.001
Discontinued
Final issue 1995
Persons Who Have Left the Labour Force, Australia
6267.0.40.001
Discontinued
Final issue 1994
Retirement and Retirement Intentions, Australia
6238.0
Irregular
November 1997
Retrenchment and Redundancy, Australia
6266.0
Irregular
July 2001
Successful and Unsuccessful Job Search Experience, Australia
6245.0
Discontinued
Final issue 2000
Superannuation, Australia
6319.0
Discontinued
Final issue 1995
Underemployed Workers, Australia
6265.0
Annual
September 2004
Working Arrangements, Australia
6342.0
Irregular
November 2003
Work-Related Injuries, Australia
6324.0
Irregular
September 2000

(a) Latest data available June 2004, from the ABS web site cat. no. 6291.0.55.001 annual, or on request.
(b) Latest data available on request July 2001.