Labour force status of parents/partners in families (LFSF)

Latest release
Census of Population and Housing: Census dictionary
Reference period
2021

Definition

This variable records the labour force status of parents/partners in couple and lone parent families.

Scope

Families in family households

Categories

CodeCategory
01Couple family: Both employed, worked full-time
02Couple family: One employed full-time, other part-time
03Couple family: One employed full-time, other away from work
04Couple family: One employed full-time, other unemployed
05Couple family: One employed full-time, other not in the labour force
06Couple family: One employed full-time, other labour force status not stated
07Couple family: Both employed, worked part-time
08Couple family: One employed part-time, other away from work
09Couple family: One employed part-time, other unemployed
10Couple family: One employed part-time, other not in the labour force
11Couple family: One employed part-time, other labour force status not stated
12Couple family: Both employed, away from work
13Couple family: One away from work, other unemployed
14Couple family: One away from work, other not in the labour force
15Couple family: One away from work, other labour force status not stated
16Couple family: Both unemployed
17Couple family: One unemployed, other not in the labour force
18Couple family: One unemployed, other labour force status not stated
19Couple family: Both not in the labour force
20Couple family: One not in the labour force, other labour force status not stated
21Couple family: Both labour force status not stated
22One parent family: Employed, worked full-time
23One parent family: Employed, worked part-time
24One parent family: Employed, away from work
25One parent family: Unemployed
26One parent family: Not in the labour force
27One parent family: Labour force status not stated
28Other family
@@Not applicable

Number of categories:  29

Not applicable (@@) category comprises:

  • Non-family/Non-classifiable households
  • Unoccupied private dwellings
  • Non-private dwellings
  • Migratory, off-shore and shipping SA1s

'Away from work' includes parents/partners who either:

  • did not state the number of hours worked
  • did not work any hours in the week prior to Census night

'Labour force status not stated' includes couple families where:

  • one or both parents/partners did not state their labour force status
  • one parent/partner was temporarily absent on Census night

‘Part-time’ is classified as a person who worked less than 35 hours in all jobs during the week prior to Census night.

‘Full-time’ is classified as a person who has worked 35 hours or more in all jobs during the week prior to Census night.

Question(s) from the Census form

What is the person’s relationship to Person 1/Person 2?

What is the person’s relationship to Person 1/Person 2?
What is Person 2's relationship to Person 1? Examples of other relationships: Son-in-law, Grand-daughter, Uncle, Boarder. More information Husband or wife of Person 1 De facto partner of Person 1 Child of Person 1 Stepchild of Person 1 Brother or sister of Person 1 Unrelated flatmate or co-tenant of Person 1 Other relationship to Person 1 (please specify)

More information

Additional information relating to the question on: What is the person’s relationship to Person 1/Person 2?
What is Person 2's relationship to Person 1? Examples of other relationships: Son-in-law, Grand-daughter, Uncle, Boarder. More information If more than one response applies, select only the option that shows the relationship that most closely applies.

Last week, did the person have a job of any kind?

Last week, did the person have a job of any kind?
Last week, did Person 1 have a job of any kind? A ‘job’ means any type of work including casual, temporary, part-time or full-time work, if it was for one hour or more. More information Yes, worked for payment or profit Yes, but absent on holidays, on paid leave, on strike, or temporarily stood down Yes, unpaid work in a family business Yes, other unpaid work No, did not have a job

More Information

Additional information relating to the question on: Last week, did the person have a job of any kind?
Last week, did Person 1 have a job of any kind? A ‘job’ means any type of work including casual, temporary, part-time or full-time work, if it was for one hour or more. More information Last week refers to the week before Census night – Tuesday 10 August 2021. People who did some work for which they will receive some payment (including casual, temporary or part-time work) and it was for one hour or more in the last week select the 'Yes, worked for payment or profit' response. People not working due to a COVID lockdown... • who worked at all in the four weeks before the current lockdown, select 'Yes, but absent on holidays, on paid leave, on strike, or temporarily stood down'. • who did not work in the four weeks before the current lockdown, select 'No, did not have a job'. People on paid leave, for example holiday leave, maternity leave or sick leave, should select 'Yes, but absent on holidays, on paid leave, on strike, or temporarily stood down'. People who have been on unpaid leave... • for less than four weeks and are not being paid, select ‘Yes, but absent on holidays, on paid leave, on strike, or temporarily stood down'. • for four weeks or more and are not being paid, select 'No, did not have a job'. People who are on workers' compensation and... • are planning to return to work, select ‘Yes, but absent on holidays, on paid leave, on strike, or temporarily stood down'. • won't be returning to work, select 'No, did not have a job'. People working for the dole are considered not to be in paid work and should select 'No, did not have a job'. People who are casual or freelance workers and... • worked in the week before Census night, select 'Yes, worked for payment or profit'. • did not work last week but worked at some stage in the four weeks before Census night, select ‘Yes, but absent on holidays, on paid leave, on strike, or temporarily stood down'. • did not work in the four weeks before Census night, select 'No, did not have a job'. People who work from home and... • get paid, select the appropriate 'Yes' response. • do not get paid, select 'No, did not have a job'. Retired people should select 'No, did not have a job'. This also applies to people who have never had a job.

Last week, how many hours did the person work in all jobs?

Last week, how many hours did the person work in all jobs?
Last week, how many hours did Person 1 work in all jobs? Add any overtime or extra time worked and subtract any time off. More information Hours worked

More information

Additional information relating to the question on: Last week, how many hours did the person work in all jobs?
Last week, how many hours did Person 1 work in all jobs? Add any overtime or extra time worked and subtract any time off. More information Include all hours the person worked for all jobs, even if those hours are not the hours they usually work. Include any overtime and hours spent working at home. Do not include time off work, for example, sick leave or annual leave. If the person did not work any hours, please enter '0'.

How this variable is created

Couple families and one parent families are identified from the Family composition (FMCF) variable. For these families the Labour force status (LFSP) and Hours worked (HRSP) for each parent in the family is used to determine which category the family fits into.

History and changes

This variable was first introduced in 2011, with some minor changes implemented in 2016.  

No changes have been made for 2021.

Data use considerations

This variable does not have a non-response rate as it is created during Census processing by using responses from more than one question on the Census form. 

Comparing Census with ABS Labour Force Survey

The Census and Labour Force Survey both collect information about the labour market activity of people aged 15 years and over. While both collections seek to measure the concepts related to employment, unemployment and being outside of the labour force, there are a number of differences between them that should be considered in the use of the data. A summary of the differences between these collections is available in Comparing the 2021 Census and the Labour Force Survey

Related variables and glossary terms

Back to top of the page