1344.8.55.001 - ACT Stats, 2006  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 14/03/2006   
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MEDIA RELEASE

March 14, 2006
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
21/2006

ACT female unemployment rate rises as participation rate falls - Mar 2006

For the first time since October 1996 the unemployment rate for females has been higher than the rate for males in the ACT.

Furthermore, in recent months the female unemployment rate has been rising while the participation rate (see media note below) has been declining.

Other key findings in the article are as follows:
  • The female participation rate increased over 21 years from 60% to 66% between 1985 and 2006.
  • The male participation rate dropped over 21 years from 83% to 77%.
  • There was a drop in the male participation rate for the prime working age (25-44 years), but an increase in older age categories.
  • The unemployment rates for both males and females have fallen by 5 percentage points between November 1997 and January 2006.

Further details are available in ACT Stats: The ACT Labour Force: Participation Rates and Unemployment Rates for males and Females (cat. no. 1344.8.55.001), available free of charge from the ABS web site <www.abs.gov.au>.

Media note: The participation rate is the labour force (employed plus unemployed persons) expressed as a percentage of the civilian population 15 years and over.