6224.0.55.001 - Labour Force, Australia: Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Families, June 2017 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 04/12/2017   
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EXPLANATORY NOTES

INTRODUCTION

1 This publication, Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Families (cat. no. 6224.0.55.001), is produced from data collected in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) in June 2013–2017. It includes detailed family data not featured in the monthly Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) or Labour Force Australia, Detailed - Electronic Delivery (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001) publications.

2 Since these products are all based on data collected in the LFS, the explanatory notes of publication Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) are relevant to all three publications. Additional information is provided in Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 6102.0.55.001).

SCOPE

3 Family data was collected for persons aged 15 years and over who were usual residents of private dwellings and whose family status could be derived. It includes information on family relationships including age of children.

4 Persons interviewed in the LFS who were classed as visitors to private dwellings, and those living in non-private dwellings (including hotels, motels, hospitals and other institutions) were also excluded. After these exclusions are applied, the estimates in this publication for 2017 cover approximately 84% of the survey sample.

5 From October 2008, the method of producing family estimates from the LFS was improved to include the following:

  • an expanded scope to include households containing permanent members of the Australian defence forces that are usually excluded from labour force estimates;
  • an increased range of families in the LFS sample contributing to the family estimates; and
  • improvements to the weighting method by utilising independent population benchmarks (of persons and households), ensuring the estimates more closely reflect the Australian population.

6 For more information, see the Information Paper: Improvements to Family Estimates from the Labour Force Survey, 2008 (cat. no. 6224.0.55.002).

DATA INTERPRETABILITY

7 The data contained in the additional tables contains cells with estimates with an RSE of greater than 50 percent and these are considered to be unreliable for general use, combined with estimates with an RSE of between 25 percent and 50 percent should be used with caution. The data used to compile families statistics contain complex family relationships which can add to the complexity of the aggregated estimates. The data in these tables are as reported by any responsible adult aged 15 years and over who were usual residents of private dwellings and were selected in the LFS.

BENCHMARKING AND ESTIMATION

8 The LFS and Labour Force, Australia: Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Families (cat. no. 6224.0.55.001) estimates are calculated in such a way as to sum to the independent estimates of the civilian population aged 15 years and over (population benchmarks). These population benchmarks are updated quarterly based on Estimated Resident Population (ERP) data. Generally, revisions are made to population benchmarks for the LFS following the final rebasing of population estimates to the latest five-yearly Census of Population and Housing, or when the need arises.

9 For all years in this release, estimates have been compiled using population benchmarks based on the results of the 2011 Census. These benchmarks have been revised to include the ERP data as at May 2017. For more details on population benchmarks, see the Explanatory Notes in Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0).

CONFIDENTIALITY

10 To minimise the risk of identifying individuals in aggregate statistics, a technique is used to randomly adjust cell values. This technique is called perturbation. Perturbation involves small random adjustment of the statistics and is considered the most satisfactory technique for avoiding the release of information that could identify individual survey respondents while maximising the range of information that can be released. These adjustments have a negligible impact on the underlying pattern of the statistics. After perturbation, a given published cell value will be consistent across all tables. However, adding up cell values to derive a total will not necessarily give the same result as published totals.

COMPARABILITY WITH PREVIOUS ESTIMATES

11 Care should be taken when comparing the estimates of previous years estimates with the current year as data has not be recompiled using latest population estimates.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

12 A number of Datacubes (spreadsheets) containing all tables produced for this publication are available from the Downloads tab of the publication. The Datacubes present tables of estimates and their corresponding Relative Standard Errors (RSEs).

13 For users who wish to undertake a more detailed analysis of the data, the survey microdata is released through a TableBuilder product. For more details, refer to the TableBuilder information, Microdata, Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Families, Australia (cat. no. 6224.0.00.001). For more information see About TableBuilder.

14 Special tabulations are available on request. Subject to confidentiality and sampling variability constraints, tabulations can be produced from the survey incorporating data items, populations and geographic area selections to meet individual requirements. These can be provided in printed or electronic form. All enquiries should be made to the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

15 ABS publications draw extensively on information provided freely by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated: without it, the wide range of statistics published by the ABS would not be available. Information received by the ABS is treated in strict confidence as required by the Census and Statistics Act, 1905.


RELATED PUBLICATIONS

16 ABS publications which may also be of interest include: