6202.0 - Labour Force, Australia, Preliminary, 2001  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 15/03/2001   
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MEDIA RELEASE

March 15, 2001
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
2001
Tasmanian employment trend continues to rise

Figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the trend estimate of the number of persons employed in Tasmania had risen for the tenth successive month to February 2001. Trend estimate figures also showed that the unemployment rate had fallen, resulting in the lowest figure, 9.0%, since June 1990.
  • Number employed The trend estimate of the total number of employed persons in Tasmania in February 2001 was 201,800, up 3,200 from the February 2000 trend estimate of 198,600. The trend estimate of the number of persons employed full-time was 139,000 (138,500 in February 2000), while the number employed part-time was 62,800 (60,100 in February 2000).
  • Number unemployed The trend estimate of the number of persons unemployed was 20,000 in February 2001 (up from 19,900 in February 2000). The number of unemployed males was 12,700 (up from 11,700 in February 2000) and the number of unemployed females was 7,300 (down from 8,200 in February 2000).
  • Unemployment rate The trend estimate of the unemployment rate for Tasmania in February 2001 was 9.0% (9.1% in February 2000). The male unemployment rate was 10.2% (9.6% in February 2000), while the female unemployment rate was 7.5% (8.5% in February 2000). The trend estimate of the national unemployment rate in February 2001 was 6.8% (6.8% in February 2000).
  • Participation rate The trend estimate of the participation rate for Tasmania in February 2001 was 59.6%, compared to 59.0% in February 2000. The male participation rate was 69.0% (67.3% in February 2000), while the female participation rate was 50.8% (51.2% in February 2000).

Note: The analysis above emphasises trend estimates. Trend estimates are the preferred guide to gaining an understanding of what the monthly labour force statistics are saying about the underlying behaviour of the labour market.


Source publication: cat. no. 6202.0
Labour Force, Australia, Preliminary

The details from this release and the main features of the publication are also available on this site.

Media contact: Margaret Dyas - (03) 6222 5847






Labour force definitions


TREND SERIES: Figures given in this Media Release are monthly trend estimates.

Trend estimates 'smooth out' erratic movements in the data. The trend series reflects the general drift or underlying path of the data. The monthly series that are 'smoothed', or averaged out, are seasonally adjusted series.

Seasonally adjusted series remove known seasonal and calendar-related influences. Examples are the effects of Easter and Christmas on employment and retail sales. However, these seasonally adjusted series can still show erratic movements, due to irregular influences such as strikes. These erratic movements may be 'smoothed' by averaging figures over a period of months; the resultant series is known as a trend series.


EMPLOYMENT: Persons aged 15 and over are considered employed if, during the week of the Labour Force Survey, they worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind in a job, business, or on a farm.


UNEMPLOYMENT: Unemployed persons are persons aged 15 and over who were not employed during the week of the Labour Force Survey, and:

(a) had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and were either:
    (i) available for work in the reference week, or would have been available except for temporary illness (i.e. lasting for less than 4 weeks to the end of the reference week);
    (ii) waiting to start a new job within 4 weeks from the end of the reference week and would have started in the reference week if the job had been available then; or

(b) were waiting to be called back to a full-time or part-time job from which they had been stood down without pay for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week (including the whole of the reference week for reasons other than bad weather or plant breakdown).


LABOUR FORCE: The labour force is defined as the total number of employed plus the total number of unemployed.


PERSONS NOT IN THE LABOUR FORCE: Many people are neither employed or unemployed, according to ABS categories. Examples of people in this category are retirees, those who choose not to work, and those who are unable to work. These groups form an important part of the labour force framework and contain people who are known collectively as persons not in the labour force.

PARTICIPATION RATE: The participation rate is the proportion of the population aged 15 and over that are in the labour force. For example, the participation rate for females is derived by adding the number of females employed to the number of females unemployed and dividing this number (the female labour force) by the total number of females in the population aged 15 and over and expressing this as a percentage.

(For more detail, see Explanatory Notes in cat. no. 6202.0, or 'phone the ABS on 03 6222 5847.)