PRINCIPAL LABOUR FORCE SERIES TREND ESTIMATES


EMPLOYED PERSONS

The trend estimate of employed persons rose from 8,437,700 in August 1997 to 9,056,500 in September 2000. The trend then fell slightly to 9,037,500 in December 2000, before generally rising to stand at a high of 10,502,100 in August 2007.

UNEMPLOYED PERSONS

The trend estimate of unemployed persons generally fell from 755,300 in August 1997 to 583,000 in September 2000, before rising to 681,300 in October 2001. The trend has since generally fallen to stand at 467,100 in August 2007.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

The trend unemployment rate generally fell from 8.2% in August 1997 to 6.0% in September 2000. After rising to 7.0% in October 2001, the trend has generally fallen to stand at 4.3% in August 2007.