6202.0 - Labour Force, Australia, Apr 2006  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 11/05/2006   
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APRIL KEY FIGURES

Mar 2006
Apr 2006
Mar 06 to Apr 06
Apr 05 to Apr 06
Trend
Employed persons ('000)
10 070.1
10 079.8
9.7
1.2
%
Unemployed persons ('000)
545.1
543.1
-2.0
1.5
%
Unemployment rate (%)
5.1
5.1
0.0
pts
0.0
pts
Participation rate (%)
64.4
64.4
0.0
pts
-0.1
pts
Seasonally Adjusted
Employed persons ('000)
10 082.1
10 078.9
-3.2
1.2
%
Unemployed persons ('000)
532.4
542.1
9.7
0.5
%
Unemployment rate (%)
5.0
5.1
0.1
pts
0.0
pts
Participation rate (%)
64.4
64.3
0.0
pts
-0.2
pts

Employed Persons
Graph: Employed Persons

Unemployment rate
Graph: Unemployment rate



APRIL KEY POINTS


TREND ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

  • EMPLOYMENT increased to 10,079,800
  • UNEMPLOYMENT decreased to 543,100
  • UNEMPLOYMENT RATE remained at 5.1%
  • PARTICIPATION RATE remained at 64.4%


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

EMPLOYMENT
  • decreased by 3,200 to 10,078,900. Full-time employment increased by 22,700 to 7,195,300 while part-time employment decreased by 25,900 to 2,883,600.

UNEMPLOYMENT
  • increased by 9,700 to 542,100. The number of persons looking for full-time work decreased by 10,100 to 366,200 while the number of persons looking for part-time work increased by 19,900 to 175,900.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
  • increased by 0.1 percentage point to 5.1%. The male unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 4.9% and the female unemployment rate increased by 0.3 percentage points to 5.4%.

PARTICIPATION RATE
  • decreased slightly to 64.3%.


NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE Release Date
May 2006 8 June 2006
June 2006 13 July 2006
July 2006 10 August 2006
August 2006 7 September 2006
September 2006 12 October 2006
October 2006 9 November 2006



CYCLONE LARRY

Due to Cyclone Larry, operational difficulties were experienced in conducting the monthly Labour Force Survey in parts of Queensland for April 2006. Investigations were conducted to identify possible impacts on Labour Force estimates for this month. These investigations did not identify any material effects on the aggregate estimates for April 2006.



ROUNDING

Estimates of monthly change shown on the front cover have been calculated using unrounded estimates, and may be different from, but are more accurate than, movements obtained from the rounded estimates. The graphs on the front cover also depict unrounded estimates.



SAMPLING ERRORS

The estimates in this publication are based on a sample survey. Because the entire population is not enumerated, the published estimates and the movements derived from them are subject to sampling variability. Standard errors give a measure of this variability and appear on pages 27 and 28.


The 95% confidence intervals below provide another way of looking at the variability inherent in estimates from sample surveys. The interval bounded by the two limits is the 95% confidence interval. A 95% confidence interval has a 95% chance of including the true value of the estimate.

Movements in seasonally adjusted series between March and April 2006
Monthly change
95% Confidence interval
Total Employment
-3 200
-55 000
to
48 600
Total Unemployment
9 700
-19 100
to
38 500
Unemployment rate
0.1 pts
-0.1 pts
to
0.3 pts
Participation rate
0.0 pts
-0.4 pts
to
0.4 pts


INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Rebecca Cash on Canberra (02) 6252 6525.



PRINCIPAL LABOUR FORCE SERIES TREND ESTIMATES


EMPLOYED PERSONS

The trend estimate of employed persons rose from 8,351,600 in April 1996 to 9,056,800 in September 2000. The trend then fell slightly to 9,037,400 in January 2001, before generally rising to stand at a high of 10,079,800 in April 2006.

Graph: Employed Persons



UNEMPLOYED PERSONS

The trend estimate of unemployed persons rose from 740,500 in April 1996 to 771,700 in February 1997. The trend then generally fell to 583,800 in September 2000, before rising to 685,900 in October 2001. The trend fell to 532,900 in January 2005, before rising to 547,700 in December 2005. Since then, the trend has fallen slightly to stand at 543,100 in April 2006.

Graph: Unemployed Persons



UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

The trend unemployment rate rose from 8.1% in April 1996 to 8.4% in February 1997, before falling to 6.1% in September 2000. After rising to 7.0% in October 2001, the trend fell to 5.1% in July 2005. The trend rose slightly to 5.2% in December 2005, before falling to stand at 5.1% in April 2006.

Graph: Unemployment Rate



STATES TREND ESTIMATES


EMPLOYED PERSONS


NEW SOUTH WALES

The trend estimate of employed persons in New South Wales remained relatively stable from April 1996 to July 1997, when it stood at 2,801,700. Apart from small decreases in late 2000 and early 2003, the trend rose steadily to stand at 3,258,500 in February 2006. Since then, the trend has fallen to stand at 3,257,200 in April 2006.

Graph: Employed Persons NSW



VICTORIA

The trend estimate of employed persons in Victoria generally rose from 2,090,600 in April 1996 to 2,359,100 in February 2003. After falling to 2,346,400 in June 2003, the trend then generally rose to stand at 2,505,100 in April 2006.

Graph: Employed Persons Vic



QUEENSLAND

The trend estimate of employed persons in Queensland generally rose from 1,522,400 in April 1996 to 1,684,900 in August 2000. After falling to 1,674,400 in January 2001, the trend then rose to stand at 2,009,000 in April 2006.

Graph: Employed Persons Qld



SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The trend estimate of employed persons in South Australia remained relatively steady from April 1996 until June 1997, when it stood at 660,200. The trend estimate then fell to 639,600 in May 1998, before generally rising to stand at 744,200 in April 2006.

Graph: Employed Persons SA



WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The trend estimate of employed persons in Western Australia generally rose from 835,900 in April 1996 to 986,900 in August 2004. Since then, the trend has increased at a greater rate to stand at 1,065,100 in April 2006.

Graph: Employed Persons WA



TASMANIA

The trend estimate of employed persons in Tasmania, although fluctuating, remained relatively steady from April 1996 until March 2002, when it stood at 197,900. After rising to 224,400 in January 2006, the trend has fallen slightly to stand at 223,700 in April 2006.

Graph: Employed Persons Tas