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Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods was originally released in 2001 in both electronic and paper versions (cat. no. 6102.0). The paper publication will not be rereleased. However, the web version (cat. no. 6102.0.55.001) is being updated on an ongoing basis. This chapter was updated on 15 December, 2005.
23.3 SEAS focused on those characteristics of employment considered important in distinguishing newer and emerging working arrangements from the prevalent, but declining, full-time ongoing job with regular hours and paid leave entitlements. These characteristics include:
23.4 The focus of the superannuation section of the survey was on:
SURVEY OUTPUT 23.5 First results from SEAS were released in Employment Arrangements and Superannuation, Australia (cat. no. 6361.0), in March 2001. This publication builds on work done as part of the supplement to the Labour Force Survey, the Forms of Employment Survey, published in Forms of Employment, Australia, (cat. no. 6359.0), to identify major employment categories in the Australian workforce. It also contains a wide range of information considered important in describing newer and emerging forms of working arrangements, and some information about superannuation coverage. A Confidentialised Unit Record File (CURF) is available via the Remote Access Data Laboratory (RADL). For more information on this CURF, see Technical Paper: Employment Arrangements and Superannuation, Australia: Confidentialised Unit Record File, 2000 (cat. no. 6361.0.55.002). Information on CURFS and the RADL can be found on the ABS web site, Services We Provide - CURFS. 23.6 Financial superannuation information, including the amount being contributed to superannuation and the amount of superannuation accrued, was supplemented over an extended period by data provided by superannuation funds and administrators. Funds and administrators provided information only for those individual respondents who authorised them to do so. This information will be released for the first time in Superannuation: Coverage and Financial Characteristics, Australia (cat. no. 6360.0) later in 2001. 23.7 The main population of interest is employed people. Estimates are produced on an original basis only (i.e. not seasonally adjusted) and include:
23.8 Most data relate to individuals. Some data are also available for households, families and income units. SCOPE 23.9 The SEAS covered people aged 15-69 years who were usual residents of private dwellings in Australia, excluding:
23.10 Usual residents of selected private dwellings were included in the survey unless they were going to be absent from the dwelling until the end of the enumeration period. The exclusion of people living in remote and sparsely settled areas has only a minor impact on any aggregate estimates that are produced for individual states and territories, except the Northern Territory. SURVEY METHODOLOGY 23.11 Most information was obtained in the SEAS by personal interview. 23.12 To maximise the quality of the superannuation data obtained from the survey, respondents were asked to refer to a relevant record (payslip and/or superannuation statement) to report amounts contributed to superannuation, and amounts accrued in superannuation. This information was supplemented by data provided by superannuation funds in cases where the respondent was unable to refer to the relevant record(s) and was willing to authorise their superannuation fund to provide the required information. For more information, see Superannuation: Coverage and Financial Characteristics, Australia (cat. no. 6360.0). SAMPLE DESIGN 23.13 A probability sample design was used. The sample was drawn from the Population Survey Master Sample and excluded non-private dwellings and remote and sparsely settled strata. See Chapter 18 for further information on sample design used in household surveys. 23.14 The initial sample contained approximately 18,000 private dwellings, or 14,000 after sample loss. ESTIMATION METHODS 23.15 Post-stratification estimation was used for person-level estimates. The post-stratification variables used to weight person-level estimates were:
23.16 Household, family and income unit estimates were also produced as part of SEAS. To obtain these estimates, weights for each household in the sample were calibrated with independent estimates of the number of households in Australia. The household benchmarks used to weight the number of households in the sample were:
23.17 The benchmarks used for people and households relate only to people living in private dwellings, and therefore do not (and are not intended to) match estimates of the total Australian resident population obtained from other sources. RELIABILITY OF THE ESTIMATES 23.18 Estimates from SEAS are subject to both sampling and non-sampling error (see Chapter 17 for more detail). The relative standard errors of survey estimates are included in each SEAS publication, and survey estimates with high relative standard errors are flagged with asterisks. DATA COMPARABILITY OVER TIME 23.19 The 2000 survey was the first SEAS collection. Some of the information collected as part of SEAS is very similar to that collected as part of the Forms of Employment Survey and, in some cases, similar data have been previously collected as part of the wider labour force supplementary survey program. However, allowances should be made for sampling variability, and for differences in scope and survey methodology. FURTHER INFORMATION 23.20 For further details contact the Labour Market Statistics Section, on Canberra (02) 6252 7206.
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