2900.0 - Census of Population and Housing: Understanding the Census and Census Data, Australia , 2016  
Latest ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 08/11/2017  First Issue
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Status in Employment (SIEMP)

This variable classifies a person's type of employment status for their main job in the week prior to Census night. This variable is applicable to all persons aged 15 years or older who list their employment status as 'employed'.

How this variable is created

Status in Employment data is derived from responses to a number of questions on the form. Data is captured automatically from mark box responses. Images of these questions are provided below.

Variable history

Status in Employment is a new data item for 2016 and replaces Employment Type, which was discontinued for the 2016 Census. Status in Employment is a more comprehensive data item compared to Employment Type as there is more detailed information as to whether the incorporated/unincorporated enterprise is with/without employees, as shown in the table below.

Categories for 2016 Status in Employment (new for 2016)Categories for 2011 Employment type (discontinued and replaced by Status in Employment variable in 2016)
1 Employee1 Employee not owning business
2 Owner manager of incorporated enterprise with employees2 Owner managers of incorporated enterprises
3 Owner manager of incorporated enterprise without employees3 Owner managers of unincorporated enterprises
4 Owner manager of unincorporated enterprise with employees4 Contributing family workers
5 Owner manager of unincorporated enterprise without employees& Not stated
6 Contributing family worker
& Not stated

Non-response rate

Non-response rate only applies to data items that directly reflect responses to individual Census form questions. Status of Employment does not have a non-response rate as it is a derived value created during Census processing for applicable persons. For more information, refer to Understanding Census data quality.

Further information

A definition of Status in Employment is available in the 2016 Census Dictionary.
For more information related to Status in Employment, see the data quality statement for Labour Force Status.

Household form question image

Data for this variable is derived from the following questions on the Census Household Form:

  • Question 34, which is used to determine if they had a job
  • Question 35 which is used to determine if the job is for an employer or their own business
  • Questions 36, and 37, for those who work in own business and these questions are used to determine nature of business and the number of employees.

Question's 34,35, 36 and 37 as they appeared on the 2016 Census Household Paper Form:

Image: 2016 Household Paper Form - Question 34. Last week, did the person have a job of any kind?
Image: 2016 Household Paper Form - Question 35. In the main job held last week, was the person:
Image: 2016 Household Paper Form - Question 36. Was the person's business:
Image: 2016 Household Paper Form - Question 37. Does the person's business employ people?
A text only version of the online Census Household form is available from the Downloads tab.