MEDIA RELEASE
28 November 2013	Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra time)	210/2013

Part time working hours were 'very important' to nearly half of Australians seeking work or employed part time, according to a report released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

"We asked people what incentives encouraged them to look for work, or work more hours in their existing part time job and the biggest consideration for both men and women was the continued availability of part time hours," said Stephen Collett from the ABS.

"Nearly 60 per cent of women caring for children said that the availability of childcare places was also a very important consideration when looking for work, followed by financial assistance with childcare costs.

"For men, 40 per cent of those seeking work or employed part-time considered that a job matching their skills and experience was very important.

Overall, there were around 2.6 million people who were jobless and wanted a job or working part-time and wanted to work more hours, but could not for a variety of reasons.

"Nearly one third of 18 to 29 year olds who were not looking for work or more hours were studying or returning to study; for people 30 to 54, caring for children was the most common reason for not looking for work or more hours, and for people over 55, the main reason for not looking for work or more hours was that they believed that they were considered too old by employers," Mr Collett said.

Further details can be found in Barriers and Incentives to Labour Force Participation, Australia, July 2012 to June 2013 (cat. no. 6239.0).

Media Note:
When reporting ABS data the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.