1288.0 - Standards for Labour Force Statistics, Issue For Dec 2014  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 16/12/2014   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

UNDERLYING CONCEPTS

NOMINAL DEFINITION

Duration of Job Search is defined as the elapsed period to the end of the reference week since the time the person began looking for work, or since the person last worked, whichever is the shorter. For persons who may have begun looking for work while still employed, the Duration of Job Search is defined as the period from the time the person last worked to the end of the reference week.

Duration of Job Search can be used to define the population 'Long-term unemployed'. Long-term unemployed are those people who have a Duration of Job Search of 52 weeks or more.

The measure is of current (and continuing) periods of unemployment for people who are unemployed in the survey reference week. It does not measure the length of (completed) spells of unemployment.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION

'Duration of Job Search' is in completed weeks and is calculated according to the following rules:

After a person has been identified as Unemployed, the Duration of Job Search is calculated by:

  • Obtaining the date the person began looking for work and calculating the number of weeks between the date and the end of the reference week.
  • Obtaining the date the person last worked and calculating the number of weeks between the date and the end of the reference week.
  • Comparing the time periods and taking the shortest of the two as the Duration of Job Search.

All data are converted to, and stored in, whole weeks for the Duration of Job Search data item.