1392.0 - Statistical News SA, Sep 2010  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 14/09/2010   
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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN STATISTICAL NEWS AND RELEASES


ABS NEWS AND RELEASES

SA Stats (cat. no. 1345.4)

SA Stats provides an overview of the state's population and economy. This publication is updated on a monthly basis, with most releases also containing a feature article on socio-economic and environmental issues of interest.


SA Stats, August 2010

This month's SA Stats includes a feature article that looks at meat production in South Australia. Australia is among the world’s largest producers of red meat and is the second largest exporter of both beef and sheep meat behind Brazil and New Zealand respectively. (Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) 2009a; 2009b). Whilst South Australia is not one of the big players on the national or international stage, meat production makes an important contribution to the state economy.


SA Stats, July 2010

Children's use of the internet and mobile phones in South Australia was explored in July's feature article. Household uptake of such technologies may impact on the ability of children to learn the necessary skills to operate effectively in today's technology rich world and ultimately affect whether they can reach their future potential.

Household access to computers and the internet in South Australia has steadily increased over the last decade. However, South Australia still has one of the lowest proportions of household broadband access of all states and territories. In the 12 months to April 2009, 71% of South Australian children had access to the internet at school, and 69% had access to the internet at home.


SA Stats, June 2010

June's feature article focused on the Vocational Education Training (VET) sector in South Australia. International students are significant contributors to the South Australian economy. Historically, growth in international student enrolments in South Australia has been driven by students choosing to study at one of the state's Higher Education institutions, however, in recent years growth in international student enrolments in the VET sector has exceeded that of all other educational sectors.


Migration, Australia, 2008-09 (cat. no. 3412.0)

Net overseas migration was the major component of population growth in South Australia at 88% of total net growth (17,300 persons), as reported in Migration, Australia, 2008-09 (cat. no. 3412.0).

All three components of population change: natural increase, net overseas migration and Net interstate migration, contribute in varying degrees to the growth of the population of each state and territory.

Key findings include:
  • South Australia grew by approximately 19,600 people in 2008-09. The growth rate was 1.2%, the second lowest of all states and territories, after Tasmania.
  • Net interstate migration was a major source of population loss for South Australia, at 4,700 people. Net interstate migration was also a population loss for New South Wales (19,800 people) and Australian Capital Territory (4,800 people).
NON ABS RELEASES

South Australians want to work less to juggle work and life

Juggling Work-Life Balance in South Australia: The Australian Work and Life Index 2010

Written by: Natalie Skinner & Sandra Pisaniello, Centre for Work + Life, University of South Australia

One third of SA employees would like to reduce their working hours by at least half a day a week in a bid to better juggle their work-life balance, a survey of SA workers by the University of South Australia's Centre for Work + Life has found.

This report establishes a 2010 benchmark for work life outcomes in South Australia by means of the Australian Work and Life Index (AWALI). It analyses these work-life outcomes by various sub-groups, compares them with Australia as a whole and contrasts them with the earlier period of 2008/09.

While there are not significant differences in the overall AWALI work-life score in SA compared to nationally, there are some significant differences on some items and some sub-groups.

For example:
  • Work interferes with community connections in SA less frequently than nationally. These differences may reflect the advantages of living in a smaller city or the smaller proportion of occupations which have worse work-life balance in SA than nationally, such as managers and professionals.
  • South Australian mothers who work full time report a better fit between their preferred and actual hours than nationally.
  • Self-employed fathers in South Australia work 44.3 hours compared to 49.3 nationally. They also have less work-life interference than nationally.