6202.0 - Labour Force, Australia, May 2012 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 07/06/2012   
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MAY KEY FIGURES

Apr 2012
May 2012
Apr 12 to May 12
May 11 to May 12

Trend
Employed persons ('000)
11 500.8
11 517.0
16.2
0.7
%
Unemployed persons ('000)
618.0
615.8
-2.2
2.5
%
Unemployment rate (%)
5.1
5.1
0.0
pts
0.1
pts
Participation rate (%)
65.3
65.3
0.0
pts
-0.3
pts
Seasonally Adjusted
Employed persons ('000)
11 499.1
11 537.9
38.9
1.0
%
Unemployed persons ('000)
600.4
622.8
22.4
4.5
%
Unemployment rate (%)
5.0
5.1
0.2
pts
0.2
pts
Participation rate (%)
65.2
65.5
0.3
pts
0.0
pts


Employed Persons
Graph: Employed Persons

Unemployment Rate
Graph: Unemployment Rate




MAY KEY POINTS


TREND ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)
  • Employment increased to 11,517,000.
  • Unemployment decreased to 615,800 from a revised April 2012 estimate.
  • Unemployment rate was steady at 5.1%.
  • Participation rate steady at 65.3% from a revised April 2012 rate.
  • Aggregate monthly hours worked increased to 1,628.3 million hours.


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)
  • Employment increased 38,900 (0.3%) to 11,537,900. Full-time employment increased 46,100 (0.6%) to 8,107,900 and part-time employment decreased 7,200 (0.2%) to 3,430,100.
  • Unemployment increased 22,400 (3.7%) to 622,800. The number of persons looking for full-time work increased 6,500 (1.5%) to 430,000 and the number of persons looking for part-time work increased 15,900 (9.0%) to 192,800.
  • The unemployment rate increased 0.2 pts to 5.1%. The male unemployment rate was steady at 4.8% and the female unemployment rate increased 0.3 pts to 5.5%.
  • The participation rate increased 0.3 pts to 65.5%.
  • Aggregate monthly hours worked decreased 4.7 million hours to 1,627.2 million hours.


LABOUR UNDERUTILISATION (QUARTERLY CHANGE)
  • Trend estimates: The labour force underutilisation rate was steady at 12.6%.
  • Seasonally adjusted estimates: The labour force underutilisation rate increased 0.1 pts to 12.6%. The male labour force underutilisation rate decreased 0.3 pts to 10.4%. The female labour force underutilisation rate increased 0.6 pts to 15.2%.


NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE Release Date
June 2012 12 July 2012
July 2012 9 August 2012
August 2012 6 September 2012
September 2012 11 October 2012
October 2012 8 November 2012
November 2012 6 December 2012



ROUNDING

Estimates of monthly change shown on the front cover have been calculated using unrounded estimates, and may be different from, but are more accurate than, movements obtained from the rounded estimates. The graphs on the front cover also depict unrounded estimates.


SAMPLING ERROR

The estimates in this publication are based on a sample survey. Published estimates and the movements derived from them are subject to sampling variability. Standard errors give a measure of sampling variability (see pages 37 and 38). The interval bounded by two standard errors is the 95% confidence interval, which provides a way of looking at the variability inherent in estimates. There is a 95% chance that the true value of the estimate lies within that interval.

MOVEMENTS IN SEASONALLY ADJUSTED SERIES BETWEEN APRIL 2012 AND MAY 2012

Monthly change
95% Confidence interval

Total Employment
38 900
-16 100
to
93 900
Total Unemployment
22 400
-9 200
to
54 000
Unemployment rate
0.2 pts
0.0 pts
to
0.4 pts
Participation rate
0.3 pts
-0.1 pts
to
0.7 pts




INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070, email client.services@abs.gov.au or Labour Force on Canberra (02) 6252 6525, email labourforce@abs.gov.au.