6209.0 - Labour Mobility, Australia, Feb 2002  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 02/10/2002   
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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS


CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The following diagram illustrates the conceptual framework for the Labour Mobility Survey. Persons aged 15-69 were classified according to whether they were working at February 2002, whether they were working at February 2001 and duration of current job.

Flowchart - Conceptual Framework



OVERVIEW

An estimated 9,856,400 persons aged 15-69 years had worked at some time during the year ending February 2002. Of these persons, 92% were working at February 2002, with the balance either looking for work (3%) or not in the labour force (5%).

Of the 9,060,700 persons working at February 2002:
  • 77% had been in their current job for the whole year;
  • 15% had been in their current job for less than one year and had worked in a previous job during the year (that is, they had changed jobs during the year);and
  • 8% had been in their current job for less than one year and had not had a previous job during the year.

Of the 1,316,800 persons working at February 2002 who had changed jobs during the year:
  • 41% had changed industry from previous to current job; and
  • 33% had changed occupation from previous to current job.


JOB MOBILITY


Of those persons who had worked at some time during the year ending February 2002,15% (1,486,000) were job mobile (that is, they changed their employer and/or their locality at least once within the previous year).

Of those persons who were job mobile during the year ending February 2002:
  • 82% (1,212,100) changed their employer or business;
  • 18% (273,800) changed locality while still working for the same employer or business; and
  • 26% of persons aged 20-24 years were job mobile, whereas only 6% of those aged 55-69 years were job mobile.

Graph - Job Mobility, by age group


Family members were generally less job mobile than non-family members (14% compared with 21%) and married persons were less job mobile than those who were not married (13% compared with 19%).

For those 1,398,300 persons who were non-family members, job mobility was higher among persons not living alone (27%) than among those living alone (16%).


OCCUPATION

There were 8,240,300 persons who were working at both February 2001 and February 2002. Of those, 85% had remained in their current job for one year or more (and therefore had not changed their occupation), and a further 10% had changed their job but not their occupation. Only 5% had changed both their job and their occupation.

Of all occupations, Elementary clerical, sales and service workers were most likely to have changed occupation (9%) over the previous 12 months, whereas Professionals were least likely (2%).

Of the 67,200 Elementary clerical, sales and service workers who changed their occupation between February 2001 and February 2002, 41% became Intermediate clerical, sales and service workers, and a further 16% became Labourers and related workers.

Graph - Working at February 2001 and 2002, proportion who changed occupation since February 2001



FULL-TIME OR PART -TIME STATUS

Of the 8,240,300 persons who were working at February 2001 and February 2002, 6,037,800 (73%) were working full time at both points in time. A further 24% were working part time at both points in time and 3% had changed their full-time or part-time status.

Of the 248,700 persons who changed their full-time or part-time status, nearly two-thirds (62%) had changed from part-time work at February 2001 to full-time work at February 2002.


DURATION OF CURRENT JOB

Graph - Working at February 2002, duration of current job



Some 2,070,900 persons working at February 2002 had been in their current job for less than one year. The Accommodation, cafes and restaurants industry had the highest proportion (36%) of persons who had worked in their current job for less than one year. In comparison, only 14% of persons employed in the Agriculture, forestry and fishing industry had worked in their current job for less than one year.

There were 2,172,300 persons who were working at February 2002 and who had been in their current job for 10 years or more. The highest concentrations were recorded in the Agriculture, forestry and fishing industry (49%) and the Electricity, gas and water supply industry (47%). The Accommodation, cafes and restaurants industry (8%) and Retail trade industry (15%) had the lowest proportions of persons who had been in their current job for 10 years or more. A greater proportion of males than females had been in their current job for 10 years or more (27% compared with 20%).


PERSONS WHO CEASED A JOB DURING THE YEAR

Of the 9,856,400 persons who had worked during the year ending February 2002, 2,112,500 (21%) ceased a job during that period.

Of these persons, 1,310,700 (62%) were job leavers (ceased their last job voluntarily/changed locality) and 801,800 (38%) were job losers (ceased their last job involuntarily). Some 39% of those who had lost their job had been in that job for less than one year, and a further 18% had worked in that job for between one and two years.