6105.0 - Australian Labour Market Statistics, Jan 2004  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 09/01/2004   
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FEATURE ARTICLE - CHANGES TO LABOUR FORCE SURVEY SEASONAL ADJUSTMENT PROCESSES
FEATURE ARTICLE - EMPLOYMENT IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
FEATURE ARTICLE - LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION: INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON
FEATURE ARTICLE - POPULATION, PARTICIPATION AND PRODUCTIVITY - CONTRIBUTIONS TO AUSTRALIA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH

Notes

Changes in this issue

Table 5.1 has been modified to include trend Wage Cost Index data at the Australia level and for public and private sectors. Trend Wage Cost Index data has replaced original data in the Labour Market Summary. See 'Labour Statistics News' below for more details.



Data contained in this issue

The statistics shown are the latest available at 12 December 2003. Data sources for the tables in this publication are listed in Appendix 1.



Electronic products

The spreadsheets and data cubes referenced in this publication are available on the ABS web site at https://www.abs.gov.au. Follow the links to [Data cubes] and [Time Series Spreadsheets].


Inquiries

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Erika Maxim on Canberra 02 6252 7636.



Labour Market Summary


Key measures

% change from
Measure
Period
Current figure
Previous quarter(a)
Previous year(b)

Employed - Trend
Persons'000
Nov 2003
9,610.5
0.8
1.8
Full-time'000
Nov 2003
6,896.4
1.1
2.1
Part-time'000
Nov 2003
2,714.1
0.1
0.9
Part-time employment as a proportion of total employment%
Nov 2003
28.2
(c)-0.2
(c)-0.2
Unemployed - Trend
Persons'000
Nov 2003
572.4
-4.3
-6.5
Looking for full-time work'000
Nov 2003
425.1
-5.4
-5.8
Looking for part-time work'000
Nov 2003
147.2
-1.1
-8.5
Unemployment rate - Trend
Persons%
Nov 2003
5.6
(c)-0.3
(c)-0.5
Long-term unemployment - Trend
Persons'000
Nov 2003
123.4
-5.1
-8.2
As a proportion of total unemployment%
Nov 2003
21.6
(c)-0.2
(c)-0.4
Labour force underutilisation rate - Original(d)%
Sep 2002
11.9
na
(c)-0.6
Extended labour force underutilisation rate - Original(d)%
Sep 2002
13.0
na
(c)-0.6
Proportion of children living in families where no parent is employed (of all children)(e)%
Jun 2003
17.2
na
(c)-0.7
Labour force participation rate - Trend
Persons%
Nov 2003
63.6
(c)0.1
(c)-0.3
Actual hours worked - Original
Aggregate weekly hoursmill. hours
Nov 2003
334.0
2.0
1.9
Average weekly hours - Personshours
Nov 2003
34.7
0.1
-0.1
Average weekly hours - Full-timehours
Nov 2003
41.9
-0.1
-0.2
Average weekly hours - Part-timehours
Nov 2003
16.5
0.0
0.0
Part-time workers - Original
Proportion who preferred to work more hours%
Nov 2003
27.8
(c)2.4
(c)1.4
Wage cost index - Trend
Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonusesindex no.
Sep qtr 2003
121.4
0.8
3.6
Average weekly earnings - Trend
Full-time adult ordinary time earnings$
Aug 2003
931.40
1.5
6.1
All employees total earnings$
Aug 2003
734.00
1.3
5.4
Compensation of employees - Trend
Household income account$m
Sep qtr 2003
93,078
1.4
6.3
Average earnings (National Accounts basis - nominal) per week$
Sep qtr 2003
880
1.1
3.7
Industrial disputes - Original
Working days lost'000
Sep qtr 2003
166.0
199.1
210.9
Working days lost per 1,000 employeesnumber
Sep qtr 2003
20.2
200.6
202.5
Job vacancies - Trend
Australia'000
Aug 2003
104.3
-1.7
5.1

na not available
(a) Same period previous quarter (monthly data is presented for the middle month of each quarter).
(b) Same period previous year.
(c) Change is in percentage points.
(d) See table 4.1 or the Glossary for further explanation of labour underutilisation rates.
(e) Children are aged under 15 years. See the Explanatory Notes for information on family data.


Employment: trend series
Full-time and total employment
Graph: Full-time and total employment


Males and females
Graph: Male and female employment




Part-time employment: trend series
Proportion of total employment, Males
Graph: Part-time employment as a proportion of total employment, males


Proportion of total employment, Females
Graph: Part-time employment as a proportion of total employment, females




Unemployment rate: trend series
Males and females
Graph: Unemployment rate of males and females




Long-term unemployment: trend series
Proportion of total unemployment
Graph: Long-term unemployment as a proportion of total unemployment, males and females




Underutilised labour
Labour underutilisation rates—1994–2002
Graph: Labour underutilisation rates, 1994 to 2002




Participation rate: trend series
Persons
Graph: Participation rate for persons

Males
Graph: Participation rate for males

Females
Graph: Participation rate for females




Wage cost index: trend series
Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses, Quarterly change
Graph: Quarterly change in total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses




Average weekly earnings: trend series
Full-time adult ordinary time earnings, Quarterly change
Graph: Quarterly change in full-time adult ordinary time earnings

All employees total earnings, Level
Graph: All employees total earnings, level




Industrial disputes: original series
Working days lost, Quarter ending
Graph: Quarterly working days lost




Job vacancies: trend series
Job vacancies, By sector
Graph: Job vacancies by sector
Labour statistics news


Labour theme page

The ABS Labour Theme Page, available on the ABS web site, provides a guide to the range of ABS statistics on the labour market, as well as links to the latest data released. To find the Theme Page, go to https://www.abs.gov.au (Themes - Labour).



Changes to Wage Cost Index publication

The experimental seasonally adjusted wage cost indexes previously published in Wage Cost Index, Australia (cat. no. 6345.0) as Appendix 2 are now considered as being of a suitable standard for ABS publication purposes and so the 'experimental' label has been removed. Trend series are also available. From the September quarter 2003 issue of 6345.0, the format of the publication and associated spreadsheets has changed to include the trend and seasonally adjusted indexes for total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses for each of the private and public sectors and for all sectors.


As a result of these changes, table 5.1 of Australian Labour Market Statistics (cat. no. 6105.0) has been revised to include trend data alongside the original data. Revisions have also been made to the Labour Market Summary table and graphs, which now contain only trend Wage Cost Index data.



Format changes to initial release LFS products

The format of the publication Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0), and other products associated with the initial release of monthly data from the LFS, will be changing from the November 2003 issue. These changes, including the revised layout of the publication, were detailed in the second issue of Information Paper: Changes to Labour Force Survey Products (cat. no. 6297.0), released on 23 October 2003.



LFS Standard Errors

Information Paper: Labour Force Survey Standard Errors (cat. no. 6298.0) was released on 15 December 2003. Accompanying the release of this paper was a spreadsheet that automates the process of calculating standard errors for most estimates produced from the Labour Force Survey. For more information see the Labour Theme Page at https://www.abs.gov.au (Themes - Labour - LFS Standard Errors).



Wage and salary earners electronic release

The June quarter 2003 issue of Wage and Salary Earners, Public Sector, Australia (cat. no. 6248.0) was the final release in the form of a printed publication. The publication will be replaced with a quarterly electronic publication under catalogue number 6248.0.55.001, containing a small number of summary tables, available free from the ABS web site https://www.abs.gov.au. More detailed tables are available in electronic format. The first issue of the new electronic publication (with reference period September quarter 2003) will be released on 15 January 2004.



Industrial disputes electronic release

The monthly publication Industrial Disputes, Australia (cat. no. 6321.0) will be replaced with a quarterly electronic publication under catalogue number 6321.0.55.001, commencing with the release of statistics for March quarter 2004. The electronic publication will contain a small number of tables presenting quarterly data and will be available free from the ABS web site at https://www.abs.gov.au. The December 2003 issue, which is scheduled for release on 18 March 2004, will be the final release in the form of a printed publication.




Review of ABS Working Arrangements Statistics

The ABS is conducting a review of working arrangements statistics. As part of the review, the ABS is consulting with users to find out more about their data needs. A discussion paper has been prepared to provide users with information about the purpose and scope of the review and some of the data issues that have been identified. The findings from the review will feed into the planning process for the household survey program and into the content of the relevant surveys.


Interested users of ABS working arrangements statistics are invited to read the discussion paper and provide their feedback by completing the questionnaire and returning it by 6 February 2004. The questionnaire and discussion paper are available at the Labour Theme page at https://www.abs.gov.au (Themes - Labour).



Understanding labour statistics course

In 2004, a one-day course on Understanding Labour Statistics will be conducted in each capital city for users of labour statistics. This one-day course will provide an overview of the range of concepts and issues associated with ABS labour statistics. It will explore the data produced by both household and employer based collections, and highlight the range of products available to access labour-related data. For more information about the course, see the Labour Theme Page, or contact Debbie Hansard on Canberra 02 6252 5895, or via email d.hansard@abs.gov.au.



Education and Work

Education and Work, Australia (cat. no. 6227.0) was released on 5 December 2003. See the article in this issue for more details.



Ageing in Australia

The National Ageing Statistics Unit released the publication Census of Population and Housing: Ageing in Australia, 2001 (cat. no. 2048.0) on 13 October 2003. This publication analyses the characteristics of the older population (persons aged 65 years and older) drawing on 2001 census data. Information is organised into seven chapters, by major areas of social concern: population; cultural diversity; living arrangements; work and economic environment; transport; education; and technology.



General Social Survey

Results from the 2002 General Social Survey were released on 18 December 2003 in the publication General Social Survey: Summary Results, Australia (cat. no. 4159.0). In addition, a data reference package, a user guide and state and territory data (cat. no. 4159.0.55.001 etc.) are due for release.


This survey brings together a wide range of information for various population groups and areas of social concern. Topics include: health; housing; education; work; income; financial stress; broad assets and liabilities; transport, family and community; and crime and justice.



Regional Wage and Salary Earner Statistics

The first issue of Regional Wage and Salary Earner Statistics, Australia - Electronic Publication (cat. no. 5673.0.55.001) was released on 19 December 2003. This electronic release contains estimates of the total number of wage and salary earners and their characteristics for various levels of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), including Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) and Local Government Areas (LGAs), in each state and territory of Australia for the year 2000-01.


The data have been compiled from aggregated data supplied from the Australian Taxation Office's Individual Income Tax Return Database, and are part of an ABS initiative to increase the range of regional statistics available, particularly through the use of administrative information held by other government agencies.



Health and Community Services Labour Force

Health and Community Services Labour Force, 2001, published jointly by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) (cat. no. HWL 27) and the ABS (cat. no. 8936.0) on 30 September 2003, is the second in an AIHW series that presents health and community services workforce data from the Census. It includes information on the number, distribution and characteristics of employed persons in 105 occupations identified as providing health and community services in 2001, and discusses growth and other changes in this workforce since 1996.

Recent and upcoming statistical releases

Release date/title of publication
Reference period
Catalogue number

January 2004
Australian Labour Market Statistics
January 2004
6105.0
Australian Census Analytic Program: Factors Underlying Indigenous Labour Force Status, 1981-2001
2001
2052.0
Industrial Disputes, Australia
October 2003
6321.0
Job Vacancies, Australia
November 2003
6354.0
Labour Force, Australia
December 2003
6202.0
Wage and Salary Earners, Public Sector, Australia - electronic release
September quarter 2003
6248.0.55.001
February 2004
Average Weekly Earnings, Australia
November 2003
6302.0
Employee Earnings, Benefits and Trade Union Membership, Australia
August 2003
6310.0
Industrial Disputes, Australia
November 2003
6321.0
Job Search Experience, Australia
July 2003
6222.0
Labour Force, Australia
January 2004
6202.0
Wage Cost Index, Australia
December quarter 2003
6345.0
March 2004
Industrial Disputes, Australia
December 2003
6321.0
Labour Force, Australia
February 2004
6202.0
Persons Not in the Labour Force, Australia
September 2003
6220.0
Underemployed Workers, Australia
September 2003
6265.0
Wage and Salary Earners, Public Sector, Australia
December quarter 2003
6248.0.55.001
April 2004
Australian Labour Market Statistics
April 2004
6105.0
Indigenous Social Survey, Australia
2002
4714.0
Job Vacancies, Australia
February 2004
6354.0
Labour Force, Australia
March 2004
6202.0
Labour Statistics in Brief, Australia
2004
6104.0
Workplace Functions in Regional Labour Markets, Queensland
1976 to 2001
6601.3