1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2003  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/01/2003   
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Contents >> Labour >> Characteristics of employment

Australia's workforce continues to change. There is an increasing diversity of employment arrangements, more flexible working time patterns, and an increase in the extent of part-time hours within Australia. This section looks at working arrangements, specifically employment types, overtime and locations of work, and hours worked.

Working arrangements

Working arrangements include employment arrangements, flexibility of hours worked, and the location where work is performed. Measures of working arrangements supplement measures of hours of work, full-time and part-time status, and other classifications of jobholders, and are useful in understanding changing workplace employment conditions.

This section discusses three aspects of working arrangements: employment type, overtime and location of work.

Employment types

In the Forms of Employment Survey of November 2001, the ABS collected information on the structure and incidence of different employment arrangements, as well as data on aspects of job tenure, job security and control over working arrangements. Employed persons, excluding contributing family workers and persons working for payment in kind only, were classified to one of five employment types on the basis of their main job, that is, the job in which they usually worked the most hours. The employment types are: employees with paid leave entitlements; self-identified casuals; employees without paid leave entitlements (who did not identify as casual); owner managers of incorporated enterprises; and owner managers of unincorporated enterprises.

There were 9,058,500 employed persons surveyed in November 2001. The predominant employment type was employees with paid leave entitlements (58.1%). Other large groups were self-identified casuals (20.0%) and owner managers of unincorporated enterprises (12.5%).

Table 6.26 shows that the predominant employment type changes as employees age. Young persons aged 15-19 years were most likely to identify themselves as being casually employed (66.3%), while 16% of employed persons in all other age groups were self-identified casuals. People aged 20-64 were most likely to be employees with paid leave entitlements - over 60% of all employed persons in these age groups fitted into that category. The incidence of employment type being owner manager increased with age - 30% of all persons aged 45 and over were owner managers compared to 14% of persons aged under 45. Those aged 65-69 were more likely to be owner managers (56%).


6.26 EMPLOYMENT TYPE, Employed persons(a) - November 2001
Age group (years)
Units
15-19
20-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-69
All age
groups

Employees with paid leave entitlements
%
28.3
60.1
67.2
60.6
59.2
50.2
22.7
58.1
Self-identified casuals
%
66.3
32.1
15.8
14.6
12.1
14.0
18.9
20.0
Employees without paid leave entitlements (who did not identify as casual)
%
4.0
3.2
2.7
2.3
1.9
2.2
*3.0
2.5
Owner managers of incorporated enterprises
%
**0.1
0.6
3.8
8.5
11.0
12.5
18.8
6.9
Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises
%
1.2
4.0
10.6
14.1
15.7
21.1
36.7
12.5
Total
%
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Number
'000
656.6
1,000.1
2,172.4
2,260.1
2,005.7
871.5
92.1
9,058.5

(a) Excluding persons who were contributing family workers and employees who worked for payment in kind only, in their main job.

Source: Forms of Employment, Australia, November 2001 (6359.0).


Graph 6.27 shows that although the proportion of employed persons who were employees with paid leave entitlements was similar for males (59%) and females (57%), more females identified themselves as casual employees (27%) than males (15%). In contrast, the proportion of males working in their own business was higher than for females (24% compared to 13%).

Graph - 6.27 Employment Type - November 2001



Overtime

Overtime refers to the work undertaken that is outside, or in addition to, ordinary working hours in an employee's main job, whether paid or unpaid.

As seen in table 6.28, almost one-third of all employees (33.0%) worked overtime on a regular basis. Males (39.3%) worked overtime on a regular basis more often than females (25.4%). Females (73.3%) were more likely to have not worked any overtime than males (58.9%).


6.28 WHETHER OVERTIME IS WORKED ON A REGULAR BASIS(a), In main job - November 2000

Units
Males
Females
Persons

Worked on a regular basis
%
39.3
25.4
33.0
Not worked on a regular basis
%
1.8
1.3
1.6
Overtime not worked
%
58.9
73.3
65.5
Total
%
100.0
100.0
100.0
Number
'000
4,198.1
3,517.5
7,715.6

(a) Refers to employees aged 15 and over.

Source: Working Arrangements, Australia, November 2000 (6342.0).


Table 6.29 shows that full-time employees were much more likely to work overtime on a regular basis than part-time employees (40.8% compared to 12.1%). While males working full-time are more likely to work overtime on a regular basis than females, males and females working part-time show the same incidence of working overtime on a regular basis (12.1%).


6.29 WORKING OVERTIME ON A REGULAR BASIS(a), In main job - November 2000

Units
Males
Females
Persons

Full-time employees
%
43.5
35.9
40.8
Part-time employees
%
12.1
12.1
12.1
All employees
%
39.3
25.4
33.0

(a) Refers to employees aged 15 and over.

Source: Working Arrangements, Australia, November 2000 (6342.0).


Table 6.30 shows that between 1995 and 1997, of those employees who usually work overtime in their main job, the proportion receiving overtime pay decreased from 40.7% to 37.7%, but then increased to 38.4% in 2000. Unpaid overtime remained constant from 1995 to 1997 (around 35%) and then decreased to 33.5% in 2000.


6.30 WHETHER OVERTIME IS PAID, Employees who usually work overtime in main job(a)

Units
August 1995
August 1997
November 2000

Paid overtime
%
40.7
37.7
38.4
Included in salary package
%
19.7
22.7
21.2
Time off in lieu
%
4.0
3.8
5.2
Unpaid overtime
%
34.8
34.9
33.5
Other Arrangements
%
0.8
0.9
1.7
Total
%
100.0
100.0
100.0
Number
'000
2,386.2
2,281.4
2,543.8

(a) Refers to employees aged 15 and over.

Source: Working Arrangements, Australia (6342.0).


Locations of work

Locations of work refers to the different types of places where people work. These include traditional workplaces, such as offices, factories and other business premises; homes, including both own homes and other homes; travelling workers who have no fixed location; and other locations including parks, beaches, streets and forests.

Persons employed at home are defined as employed persons who worked all or most hours at home and employees who had an arrangement with their employer to work some hours at home, in their main or second job.

In June 2000, there were 8,589,400 employed persons at work during the reference period, of whom 83.9% worked mainly at business premises (table 6.31). Females were more likely than males to work mainly at their own home (8.4% compared to 6.1%) and at business premises (87.4% compared to 81.2%). Males were more likely to travel as their main location of work (6.9% compared to 1.4%).


6.31 MAIN LOCATION OF WORK IN MAIN JOB(b), Employed persons at work in reference week - June 2000

Units
Males
Females
Persons

Own home(a)
%
6.1
8.4
7.1
Employer's or client's home
%
4.3
2.1
3.3
Business premises
%
81.2
87.4
83.9
Travelling
%
6.9
1.4
4.5
Other
%
1.5
0.7
1.2
Total
%
100.0
100.0
100.0
Number
'000
4,380.8
3,758.6
8,589.4

(a) Includes another home.
(b) The main location of work is the place where the most hours were worked during the survey reference week, in their main job.

Source: Locations of Work, Australia, June 2000 (6275.0).


Table 6.32 shows the main location of work in main job by employment status. Of employees, 89.3% worked mainly at business premises and just 3.4% worked at their own home. In contrast, 40.5% of own account workers worked mainly at business premises and 35.5% worked at their own home. Contributing family workers had the highest proportion working at their own home (50.1%). Own account workers had the highest proportion of travelling workers (9.1%).


6.32 MAIN LOCATION OF WORK IN MAIN JOB, Employed persons at work in reference week - June 2000

Units
Employee
Employer
Own account
worker
Contributing
family
worker

Own home(a)
%
3.4
21.6
35.5
50.1
Employer's or client's home
%
2.2
9.0
12.7
*2.9
Business premises
%
89.3
63.4
40.5
41.5
Travelling
%
4.1
4.1
9.1
*1.5
Other
%
1.0
1.8
2.2
*3.8
Total
%
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Number
'000
7,496.0
292.7
732.8
67.9

(a) Includes another home.

Source: Locations of Work, Australia, June 2000 (6275.0).


Hours of work

Hours of work are defined as the number of hours that employed persons have actually worked in all jobs during the reference week, not necessarily the hours paid for. Hours data have a wide range of uses, for example, to calculate productivity, and to monitor working conditions, quality of life and living standards of employed persons. Information on hours of work allows the ABS to classify employed persons as full-time or part-time, and also to identify underemployed persons (in conjunction with measures of those 'wanting to work').

Average weekly hours worked is defined as aggregate hours worked by a group of employed persons during the reference week divided by the number of employed persons in that group. Graph 6.33 shows that the average weekly hours worked by full-time employed persons rose from 39.5 in 1983-84 to 42.5 in 1994-95, an increase of 8%. However, from 1995-96 to 2000-01 the average weekly hours worked by full-time employed persons remained almost unchanged (42.5 to 42.6). In 2001-02 there was a slight fall in the average to 42.3 hours per week for full-time employed persons.

Graph - 6.33 Average weekly hours worked(a), Full-time employed persons: Annual average



As shown in graph 6.34, the average weekly hours worked in full-time employment differed across occupations, although in almost all occupations, males worked between three and five hours longer than females. The greatest difference was in the occupation Managers and administrators where on average males worked 5.3 hours per week longer than females. The smallest difference was in Tradespersons and related workers where on average males worked 1.7 hours per week longer than females.

Persons employed as Managers and administrators recorded the highest average weekly hours for full-time employment for both males (51 hours per week) and females (46), followed by Associate professionals (47 and 43). The occupation with the lowest average weekly hours worked was Labourers and related workers (40 hours per week for males and 37 for females).

Graph - 6.34 Average weekly hours for full-time employed persons, By occupation(a): Annual average - 2001-02



Table 6.35 shows that the average weekly hours worked for males (39.8) was almost 11 hours greater than for females (29.0). This was due partly to males working longer average weekly hours in full-time employment (43.7) than females (39.5), and also because females were more likely than males to work part-time.


6.35 EMPLOYED PERSONS, Average weekly hours worked(a): Annual average(b) - 2001-02

Males
Females
Persons
hours
hours
hours

Full-time workers
43.7
39.5
42.3
Part-time workers
16.2
16.4
16.3
Full-time and part-time workers
39.8
29.0
35.0

(a) The estimates refer to actual hours worked, not hours paid for.
(b) Annual averages based on quarterly data.

Source: Labour Force, Australia, June 2002 (6203.0).


Graph 6.36 shows that in May 2002, 37% of employed males worked between 35 and 44 hours per week, and a further 37% worked more than 45 hours per week. In contrast, 14% of employed females worked more than 45 hours per week. Most females worked between 16 and 44 hours per week, with 30% working between 16 and 34 hours, and 31% between 35 and 44 hours.

Graph - 6.36 Average weekly hours worked - May 2002



Graph 6.37 shows that, from 1983-84 through to 2001-02, there was a steady increase in the number of hours worked by part-time workers as a percentage of the total number of hours worked. In 1983-84, 8% of all hours worked were in part-time employment; however, in 2001-02 this had risen to 13%. For males, 6% of the total number of hours worked were attributed to part-time employment in 2001-02, whereas for females the proportion was much greater (26%).

6.37 PART-TIME HOURS AS A PROPORTION OF TOTAL HOURS WORKED:
Annual average

Graph - 6.37  PART-TIME HOURS AS A PROPORTION OF TOTAL HOURS WORKED:, Annual Average



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