Tourism Satellite Accounts: quarterly tourism labour statistics, Australia, experimental estimates

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Experimental estimates of quarterly tourism employment and jobs to help explain the impacts of COVID-19 on tourism activity.

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Reference period
June 2021
Released
17/09/2021
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Key statistics

In June, there were 675,600 tourism jobs. This was:

  • 10,000 (1.5%) more jobs than March 2021
  • 69,100 (11.4%) more jobs than June 2020
  • almost 1 in 20 (4.7%) filled jobs in the economy 

Overview

Filled jobs

All references to "jobs" are referring to "filled jobs" unless otherwise specified. For information on the various measures of jobs (filled job, Labour Account main job and Labour Account secondary job), please refer to the Glossary in Methodology.

Change in number and percentage of jobs by status, original series (a)
 Mar-20 to Jun-20Jun-20 to Sep-20Sep-20 to Dec-20Dec-20 to Mar-21Mar-21 to Jun-21Jun-20 to Jun-21
Tourism-91700
(-13.1%)		24600
(4.1%)		23500
(3.7%)		11000
(1.7%)		10000
(1.5%)		69100
(11.4%)
Whole economy-863300
(-6.0%)		206000
(1.5%)		445700
(3.2%)		-32000
(-0.2%)		136000
(1.0%)		755700
(5.6%)

(a) Change on preceding quarter, except for the last column which shows the change on corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Key COVID-19 dates

2020

  • January–March: Bushfires heavily impacted various regions across Australia. States of emergency were declared across New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory.
  • 20 March: Australia's international borders closed to all non-citizens and non-residents.
  • 21 March: Domestic travel restrictions began. Tasmania first state to require people entering to self-isolate for 14 days from arrival.
  • 22 March: Prime Minister announced Stage 2 lock down changes, which were progressively implemented.
  • 30 March: Prime Minister announced JobKeeper program.
  • First week of May: JobKeeper payment from ATO commenced.
  • Mid-May: Initial progressive easing of social distancing and trading restrictions commenced.
  • July-August: Progressive stage 3 and 4 restrictions commenced for different parts of Victoria.
  • July-September: State border restrictions frequently reviewed and progressively updated (tightened/relaxed).
  • 28 September: JobKeeper extension (with modified eligibility test) commenced.
  • October: Restrictions in Victoria progressively eased.
  • 16 October: Travellers from New Zealand allowed to fly into Australia as part of the one-way quarantine-free travel bubble agreement. 
  • November-December: Alternation between re-impositions and easing of restrictions for various local government areas affected by local outbreaks in South Australia and New South Wales, and closing and reopening of various State and Territory borders.

2021

  • January-March: Alternation between re-impositions and easing of restrictions for various local government areas affected by local outbreaks in New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria, and closing and reopening of various State and Territory borders. Continuation of the one-way quarantine-free travel bubble for travellers flying into Australia from New Zealand. Some temporary suspensions were put in place during the quarter due to localised COVID-19 outbreaks. 
  • 11 March: Prime Minister announced the $1.2 billion Tourism Aviation Network Support package.
  • 28 March: JobKeeper program ended.
  • 19 April: 2-way Australia/New Zealand travel bubble commenced
  • From late April: State border and COVID-19 restrictions were frequently reviewed and updated to contain COVID-19 outbreaks in New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory and Victoria.
  • Late May-June - Temporary disruption to quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia.

Tourism industry

Change in number and percentage of jobs by industry, original series (a)

 

Mar-20 to Jun-20Jun-20 to Sep-20Sep-20 to Dec-20Dec-20 to Mar-21Mar-21 to Jun-21Jun-20 to Jun-21
Accommodation -15100
(-18.8%)		500
(0.8%)		3300
(5.0%)		-200
(-0.3%)		7100
(10.3%)		10700
(16.4%)
Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services -36800
(-17.0%) 		20900
(11.6%)		3600
(1.8%)		11700
(5.7%)		-5200
(-2.4%)		31000
(17.3%)
Clubs, pubs, taverns and bars-5800
(-10.8%) 		1300
(2.7%)		1600
(3.3%)		2700
(5.3%)		2600
(4.9%)		8200
(17.1%)
Rail transport 0
(0.0%) 		-200
(-8.7%)		0
(0.0%) 		0
(0.0%) 		100
(4.8%)		-100
(-4.3%)
Road transport and transport equipment rental-2000
(-6.9%)		1300
(4.8%)		1800
(6.3%)		1000
(3.3%)		-1300
(-4.2%)		2800
(10.3%)
Air, water and other transport -7000
(-17.8%) 		-6800
(-21.1%) 		600
(2.4%)		4200
(16.1%)		300
(1.0%)		-1700
(-5.3%)
Travel agency and information centre services-3900
(-11.1%)		2100
(6.8%)		2000
(6.0%)		100
(0.3%)		1700
(4.8%)		5900
(19.0%)
Cultural services -2700
(-23.3%) 		600
(6.7%)		100
(1.1%)		600
(6.3%)		-600
(-5.9%)		700
(7.9%)
Casinos and other gambling services -300
(-7.9%)		-100
(-2.9%)		100
(2.9%)		-100
(-2.9%)		0
(0.0%)		-100
(-2.9%)
Sports and recreation services-6400
(-25.8%)		3700
(20.1%)		2900
(13.1%)		-100
(-0.4%)		900
(3.6%)		7400
(40.2%)
Retail trade -3700
(-3.2%)		2200
(2.0%)		5300
(4.6%)		-6400
(-5.3%)		2900
(2.5%)		4000
(3.5%)
Education and training -6900
(-11.4%)		-900
(-1.7%)		1300
(2.5%)		-2500
(-4.6%)		1300
(2.5%)		-800
(-1.5%)
All other industries-1300
(-5.2%) 		200
(0.8%)		700
(2.9%)		100
(0.4%)		200
(0.8%)		1200
(5.1%)
Tourism total (b)-91700
(-13.1%)		24600
(4.1%)		23500
(3.7%)		11000
(1.7%)		10000
(1.5%)		69100
(11.4%)

(a) Change on preceding quarter, except for the last column which shows the change on corresponding quarter of the previous year
(b) Totals may not add due to rounding 

During this quarter, industries with the largest quarterly change in number of jobs were:

  • accommodation: 7,100 jobs (10.3%)
  • cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services: -5,200 jobs (-2.4%)
  • retail trade: 2,900 jobs (2.5%)

Comparing June 2020 with 2021, industries with the largest change in number of jobs were:

  • cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services: 31,000 jobs (17.3%)
  • accommodation: 10,700 jobs (16.4%)
  • clubs, pubs, taverns and bars: 8,200 (17.1%)

Employment status

Change in number and percentage of jobs by status, original series (a)
 Mar-20 to Jun-20Jun-20 to Sep-20Sep-20 to Dec-20Dec-20 to Mar-21Mar-21 to Jun-21Jun-20 to Jun-21
Full-time-28800
(-8.0%)		-21000
(-6.3%)		10100
(3.2%)		17700
(5.5%)		-3600
(-1.1%)		3200
(1.0%)
Part-time-62900
(-18.6%)		45700
(16.7%)		13300
(4.2%)		-6700
(-2.0%)		13600
(4.2%)		65900
(24.0%)

  (a) Change on preceding quarter, except for the last column which shows the change on corresponding quarter of the previous year

During this quarter:

  • full-time jobs decreased by 3,600 (-1.1%) jobs while part-time jobs increased by 13,600 (4.2%)

Between June quarter 2020 and 2021:

  • there were 65,900 (24.0%) more part-time jobs; this change is larger than full-time which has 3,200 (1.0%) more jobs

Sex

Change in number and percentage of jobs by sex, original series (a)
 Mar-20 to Jun-20Jun-20 to Sep-20Sep-20 to Dec-20Dec-20 to Mar-21Mar-21 to Jun-21Jun-20 to Jun-21
Male-30100
(-9.4%)		6100
(2.1%)		13900
(4.7%)		9000
(2.9%)		-5000
(-1.6%)		24000
(8.3%)
Female-61600
(-16.2%)		18600
(5.9%)		9500
(2.8%)		2000
(0.6%)		15000
(4.3%)		45100
(14.2%)

 (a) Change on preceding quarter, except for the last column which shows the change on corresponding quarter of the previous year

During this quarter:

  • jobs worked by males decreased by 5,000 (-1.6%) jobs while jobs worked by females increased by 15,000 (4.3%) jobs

Between June quarter 2020 to 2021:

  • there were 24,000 (8.3%) more jobs worked by males; this change was smaller than females who have gained 45,100 (14.2%) jobs

Sex by employment status

Change in number and percentage of jobs by sex by employment status
 MaleFemale
 Mar-21 to Jun-21Jun-20 to Jun-21Mar-21 to Jun-21Jun-20 to Jun-21
Full-time-6800
(-4.1%)		-2200
(-1.4%)		3200
(1.9%)		5400
(3.2%)
Part-time1700
(1.1%)		26200
(20.8%)		11900
(6.8%)		39700
(26.8%)

During this quarter:

  • part-time female jobs has the largest quarterly increase of 11,900 (6.8%) jobs
  • full-time male jobs has the largest quarterly decrease of 6,800 (-4.1%) jobs

From June quarter 2020 to 2021:

  • part-time female jobs has the largest yearly change of 39,700 (26.8%) jobs
  • full-time male jobs has the smallest yearly change of 2,200 (-1.4%) job losses

Measuring the impacts of bushfires and COVID-19 on tourism activity

The bushfires followed immediately by the COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on the Australian economy with tourism particularly affected. This section looks at how tourism has been impacted over the period by comparing estimates of tourism jobs at the end of December 2019 with those in the current quarter.

  • Tourism jobs peaked at 745,100 in December 2019, then fell to the lowest level (606,500) since June 2013 in June 2020, and increased to 675,600 this quarter.
  • This represents 9.3% (-69,500) less tourism jobs, compared to 1.5% (-224,900) less jobs in the whole economy as at the end of this quarter.
  • This represents a 49.9% recovery of total tourism jobs lost between the peak and the trough jobs estimate since these events. This is driven by an uneven mix of movements across tourism industries.

Upcoming Australian System of National Accounts historical revisions (September quarter 2021)

Statistical revisions are carried out regularly in the Australian System of National Accounts to reflect the most current information and estimation methods. Periodically the ABS will revise a longer annual time series, which is often referred to as “historical revisions". These longer time series revisions focus on improving data quality (e.g. incorporating cyclical data collections such as the Census); adopting new classifications; and improving international comparability. The next major historical revisions to National Accounts are scheduled to be published in the Australian System of National Accounts on 29 October 2021.

The historical revisions to the Australian System of National Accounts will result in revisions to the September quarter 2021 release of the Quarterly Tourism Labour Statistics to be published on 22 December 2021.

For further information on the upcoming historical revisions, please refer to the June quarter release of Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product.

Related release

Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account (previously used cat. no. 5249.0)

The 2019-20 issue of Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account was released on 10 December 2020. Users are reminded that the estimates in this quarterly release are based on a different data source and are not directly comparable to the estimates provided in the annual tourism satellite account publication. For more information on the strengths and differences between the two employment measures, please refer to the article published in March quarter 2020.

Feedback

This new TSA publication contains experimental estimates of quarterly tourism labour statistics. The ABS welcomes comments and suggestions from users regarding this release. If you are interested in contributing, please contact the Customer Assistance Service via the ABS website Contact Us page. 

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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 5249.0.55.005.

Methodology

Tourism Satellite Accounts: quarterly tourism labour statistics, Australia, experimental estimates methodology, June 2021