Linked Employer-Employee Database (LEED)

The Linked Employer-Employee Dataset (LEED) brings together employer information (from the Business Longitudinal Analysis Data Environment) and employee information (from Personal Income Tax data) into a linked dataset, made possible through data integration.

LEED is released annually and covers consecutive financial years starting from 2011-12.

The linked dataset is comprised of a person file, a job file, and an employer file. Employed persons are linked to employers via jobs. A person can have a number of jobs throughout the year with one or many employers, some of which may be held concurrently.

LEED enables detailed analysis of the Australian labour market, particularly at small geographic levels. Information is available across the three lenses of jobs, persons and employers.

• Jobs - provides information on the 18-20 million jobs held each year in Australia, such as when they were worked, how much they paid, as well as the characteristics of the businesses that offered them and the people who worked in them, enabling detailed analysis that has not previously been possible
• Persons – provides new insights on topics such as multiple job-holding in Australia (how many people are working more than one job at a time and what type of jobs they are working), as well as analysis of jobs by a number of detailed characteristics such as age, sex, geography, occupation, and industry
• Employers - by linking employee microdata directly to employer information, it provides further insights into topics such as job creation and destruction as industries change over time, and elements that assist in exploring the drivers of firm-level performance, such as occupation composition and the key demographics of employees

LEED is governed by existing ABS Privacy and Security protections, expanded in the Keeping integrated data safe page. 

The LEED includes tax data supplied by the Australian Tax Office to the ABS under the Taxation Administration Act 1953, which requires that such data is only used for the purpose of administering the Census and Statistics Act 1905. The LEED also includes Australian Business Register data supplied by the Registrar to the ABS under A new Tax System (Australian Business Number ) Act 1999, which requires that such data is only used for the purpose of carrying out functions of the ABS.

Researchers have already used data from LEED to study micro-labour markets, examine how specific major changes impact employees and employers, and understand structural changes in the labour market.

Some examples of important insights made possible by LEED can be found in the Jobs in Australia release.

Information from LEED is used in the compilation of the Australian Labour Account. Methodology developed for LEED is used in the Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia release, part of the ABS response to Covid-19.

To find out more about how LEED, and data integration in general, can be used to advance research and benefit the public, visit the Use and benefits page.

Information from LEED is published annually in Jobs in Australia and Personal Income in Australia, and customisable microdata is available through the Microdata: Jobs and Income of Employed Persons release.

Access and services provides an outline of how to apply to apply for and access customised data from LEED.

Further information about the LEED product and methodology can be found in Jobs in Australia methodology and Personal Income in Australia methodology.