Upcoming changes to the Characteristics of Employment survey
As part of ABS plans to modernise the Labour Force Survey (LFS) (see Modernising the Labour Force Survey) there will be changes to the way the labour supplementary surveys, including Characteristics of Employment, are conducted. This will include changes to the timing of collection, the reference periods that data are published in respect of, the content collected, and the range and timing of outputs produced.
The key changes to the model used to collect the LFS and supplementary surveys include:
- no longer collecting the LFS supplementary surveys in specific calendar months - currently collected in February (Participation, Jobs Search and Mobility), May (Education and Work), and August (Characteristics of Employment)
- collecting a new redesigned labour supplementary survey on a monthly basis from respondents in their last (of eight) months in the LFS (the 'outgoing' rotation group)
- no longer collecting additional LFS content in 'quarter months' (Feb, May, Aug and Dec) - with content currently collected quarterly moving to either the 'core' monthly LFS (e.g. industry and occupation) or the new labour supplementary survey
The changes will be implemented progressively across 2026. As a result:
- August 2025 was the last time the Characteristics of Employment survey was conducted in its current form
- the upcoming Participation, Job Search and Mobility survey, scheduled for February 2026, will be the last conduced in its current form
- the 2025-26 Barriers and Incentives survey, which is collected in the Multi-Purpose Household Survey (MPHS), will also be the last conducted in its current form
A redesigned labour supplementary survey is expected to commence in the 2nd half of 2026. This survey will combine and integrate content currently collected in:
- Characteristics of Employment
- Participation, Job Search and Mobility
- Barriers and Incentives (from MPHS)
- Casual Experience (from MPHS)
- the quarter month Labour Force Survey (that isn't moving to the monthly LFS)
Data from the new supplementary survey will be compiled and published on a calendar year basis. More information on the content and timing of the suite of outputs that will be published from the new supplementary survey will be provided in early 2026, however we expect a similar range of data as published across the current suite of releases would continue to be available.