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UNDERLYING CONCEPTS
LABOUR FORCE STATUS
6. The Labour Force Survey classifies the in-scope population according to their labour force status (employed, unemployed or not in the labour force). Labour force status is derived by asking a series of questions about a person's work-related activities and availability for work in the reference period. The criteria for determining a person's labour force status are (broadly) as follows:
- whether a person has work (that is, economic work for which payment is received such as wages, salary, profit, commission or payment in kind. Unpaid activities such as unpaid domestic work and volunteer community services are excluded); and
- whether those who do not have work are:
- actively looking for work; and
- available to start work.
7. The determination of labour force status from these criteria is as follows:
- a person who meets the first criterion is classified as employed and hence in the labour force (currently economically active)
- a person who meets all of the subsequent criteria (i.e. without work, actively looking for work, and available to start work) is classified as unemployed and hence in the labour force (currently economically active) and
- a person not classified as employed or unemployed is classified as not in the labour force (not currently economically active).
8. Reflecting these broad principles, the definitions of employed, unemployed and not in the labour force used by the ABS are outlined below.
9. Employed are defined as persons aged 15 and over who, during the reference week:
- worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind, in a job or business or on a farm (comprising employees, employers and own account workers) or
- worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (i.e. contributing family workers) or
- were employees who had a job but were not at work and were:
- away from work for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week or
- away from work for more than four weeks up to the end of the reference week and received pay for some or all of the four week period to the end of the reference week or
- away from work as a standard work or shift arrangement or
- on strike or locked out or
- on workers' compensation and expected to be returning to their job; or
- were employers or own account workers, who had a job, business or farm, but were not at work.
10. Unemployed are defined as persons aged 15 and over who were not employed during the reference week, and:
- had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and:
- were available for work in the reference week or
- were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference week, and could have started in the reference week if the job had been available then.
11. Actively looking for work includes: writing, telephoning or applying in person to an employer for work; answering an advertisement for a job; checking factory notice boards or the touchscreens at Centrelink offices; being registered with Centrelink as a jobseeker; checking or registering with any other employment agency; advertising or tendering for work; and contacting friends or relatives.
12. Persons not in the labour force are defined as persons aged 15 and over who were not employed or unemployed, as defined. They include: persons who were keeping house (unpaid), retired, voluntarily inactive, or permanently unable to work; persons in institutions (boarding schools, hospitals, gaols, sanatoriums, etc.); members of contemplative religious orders; and persons whose only activity during the reference week was jury service or unpaid voluntary work for a charitable organisation.
13. Persons working without pay in an economic enterprise operated by a related person are termed contributing family workers. They are classified as 'employed' if they worked one hour or more in the reference week, and as 'unemployed' or 'not in the labour force' if they did not work during the reference week.
OTHER LABOUR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS
14. The labour force survey also collects information on certain characteristics of persons in employment and unemployment as well as persons not in the labour force. The measurement and classification of labour force characteristics are detailed in Labour Statistics: Concepts Sources and Methods (cat. no. 6102.0). Some of the key measurements and classifications used in the Labour Force Survey are listed below.
- Employment related characteristics include:
- status in employment in main job (employee, employer, own account worker or contributing family worker)
- actual hours worked in all jobs and in main jobs
- usual hours worked in main job
- full-time or part-time status
- underemployment
- occupation and industry of main job and
- job tenure.
- Unemployment related characteristics include:
- whether looking for full-time or part-time work
- full-time/part-time status of last job
- reason for ceasing last job
- duration of unemployment and
- occupation and industry of last job.
- Characteristics of persons not in the labour force include:
- whether looking for work (actively looking but not available for work, not actively looking for work)
- marginal attachment to the labour force
- permanently unable to work and
- persons in institutions.
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