Labour Force, Australia

Latest release

Headline estimates of employment, unemployment, underemployment, participation and hours worked from the monthly Labour Force Survey

Reference period
April 2023
Released
18/05/2023
  • Next Release 15/06/2023
    Labour Force, Australia, May 2023
  • Next Release 20/07/2023
    Labour Force, Australia, June 2023
  • Next Release 17/08/2023
    Labour Force, Australia, July 2023
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Key statistics

In trend terms, in April 2023:

  • unemployment rate remained at 3.6%.
  • participation rate remained at 66.7%.
  • employment increased to 13,878,900.
  • employment to population ratio decreased to 64.2%.
  • underemployment rate remained at 6.1%.
  • monthly hours worked increased to 1,933 million.

In seasonally adjusted terms, in April 2023:

  • unemployment rate increased to 3.7%.
  • participation rate decreased to 66.7%.
  • employment decreased to 13,882,100.
  • employment to population ratio decreased to 64.2%.
  • underemployment rate decreased to 6.1%.
  • monthly hours worked increased to 1,974 million.
  • full-time employment decreased by 27,100 to 9,726,500 people.
  • part-time employment increased by 22,800 to 4,155,600 people.
Key statistics - Trend
Mar-2023Apr-2023Monthly changeMonthly change (%)Yearly changeYearly change (%)
Trend
Employed people13,854,90013,878,90024,0000.2%353,0002.6%
Unemployed people517,500521,8004,3000.8%-16,100-3.0%
Unemployment rate3.6%3.6%0.0 ptsna-0.2 ptsna
Underemployment rate6.1%6.1%0.0 ptsna-0.1 ptsna
Participation rate66.7%66.7%0.0 ptsna0.0 ptsna
Monthly hours worked in all jobs 1,925 million 1,933 million8 million0.4%92 million5.0%
Key statistics - Seasonally adjusted
Mar-2023Apr-2023Monthly changeMonthly change (%)Yearly changeYearly change (%)
Seasonally adjusted
Employed people13,886,40013,882,100-4,3000.0%390,3002.9%
Unemployed people509,600528,00018,4003.6%-13,200-2.4%
Unemployment rate3.5%3.7%0.1 ptsna-0.2 ptsna
Underemployment rate6.2%6.1%-0.1 ptsna0.0 ptsna
Participation rate66.8%66.7%-0.1 ptsna0.2 ptsna
Monthly hours worked in all jobs 1,925 million 1,974 million49 million2.6%136 million7.4%

Estimates of changes throughout this release are calculated using un-rounded level estimates and may be different from, but are more accurate than, movements obtained from the rounded level estimates.

For definitions of labour statistics used in this publication, please refer to Glossary of Labour Force, Australia methodology.

Survey impacts and changes

Articles and other information

The ABS has again published Insights into hours worked, April 2023 (along with data cubes EM2a and EM2b, which are usually published in the detailed release).

As Labour Force hours worked data are returning to normal patterns, the ABS will cease publishing ‘insights into hours worked’ after the April 2023 publication.  The data cubes EM2a and EM2b will continue to be published with the release of headline estimates until the end of the winter months in 2023 (exact timing to be confirmed) to enable more detailed analysis of changes in hours worked and the reasons that people are working reduced hours.

Seasonal adjustment and trend estimates

The Annual Series Review (ASR) of the Labour Force series was conducted on estimates up to February 2023. Minor revisions have been made to the Labour Force estimates as a result of this review.

While seasonal factors for the complete time series are re-estimated each month as part of concurrent seasonal adjustment, they are reviewed annually at a more detailed level. The ASR utilises the context gained from an additional year of original data to assess the appropriateness of seasonal adjustment parameters and prior corrections.

This year’s ASR also included a review of trend estimates since the beginning of the COVID-19 period, particularly the identification of trend breaks.  As a result, some trend breaks have been added and removed from published series. The largest revisions to the Labour Force series can be attributed to this aspect of the ASR.

For further information on the seasonal adjustment and trend estimations used in the Labour Force Survey please refer to Labour Force, Australia methodology.

Survey response and timeline

The April Labour Force Survey was run in respect of the two weeks from Sunday 2 April to Saturday 15 April, and collected over the period from Sunday 9 April to Saturday 29 April.

The ABS would like to thank Australians for their continued support in responding to our surveys, given how critically important this information is.

Reference and Enumeration Dates
PublicationStart of Reference WeekEnd of Reference WeekStart of EnumerationEnd of Enumeration
Mar-2326th February 202311th March 20235th March 202325th March 2023
Apr-232nd April 202315th April 20239th April 202329th April 2023
May-2330th April 202313th May 20237th May 202327th May 2023
Jun-234th June 202317th June 202311th June 20231st July 2023
Jul-232nd July 202315th July 20239th July 202329th July 2023
Aug-2330th July 202312th August 20236th August 202326th August 2023

Unemployment

In trend terms, in April 2023:

  • unemployment rate remained at 3.6%.
  • unemployed people increased by 4,300 to 521,800. 
  • youth unemployment rate increased to 8.2%.

Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period. Information on trend breaks can be found in Labour Force, Australia methodology, April 2023.

Employment

In trend terms, in April 2023, employment increased by 24,000 people (0.2%) to 13,878,900 people.

Flows into and out of employment

Flows into and out of employment are extensive and are based on the net matched sample of original employment growth between two consecutive months (around 80% of the sample). The (net) sum of the inflows and outflows does not necessarily equal the 'net' employment growth.

For April 2023, the net change in the number of employed people is the result of around 480,000 people entering employment (i.e. they were not employed in March but were employed in April), while around 542,000 people left employment (i.e. they were employed in March but not employed in April). This contrasts with March 2023, where around 491,000 people entered employment and around 488,000 people left employment.

Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period. Information on trend breaks can be found in Labour Force, Australia methodology, April 2023.

Full-time and part-time employment

In trend terms, in April 2023:

  • full-time employment increased by 22,800 to 9,723,600 people, and part-time employment increased by 1,200 to 4,155,300 people.
  • part-time share of employment was 29.9%.

 

Employment-to-population ratio

In trend terms, in April 2023, the employment-to-population ratio decreased to 64.2%.

The employment-to-population ratio provides a measure of employment relative to the size of the population.

Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period. Information on trend breaks can be found in Labour Force, Australia methodology, April 2023.

Hours worked

In trend terms, in April 2023, monthly hours worked in all jobs increased by 7.5 million hours (0.4%) to 1,933 million hours.

See the article Insights into hours worked for more.

Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period. Information on trend breaks can be found in Labour Force, Australia methodology, April 2023.

Participation

In trend terms, in April 2023, the participation rate:

  • remained at 66.7%.
  • decreased to 71.0% for men and remained at 62.4% for women.

Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period. Information on trend breaks can be found in Labour Force, Australia methodology, April 2023.

Underemployment

In trend terms, in April 2023:

  • underemployment rate remained at 6.1%.
  • underutilisation rate remained at 9.7%.

Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period. A list of trend breaks can be found in Labour Force, Australia methodology, April 2023.

States and Territories

April 2023 - Trend
New South WalesVictoriaQueenslandSouth AustraliaWestern AustraliaTasmaniaNorthern TerritoryAustralian Capital TerritoryAustralia
Employed people4,315,6003,587,3002,799,200941,8001,529,100291,600143,600263,00013,878,900
Employed people - monthly change0.0%0.3%0.2%0.3%0.2%0.2%0.8%0.1%0.2%
Employment to population ratio63.7%64.7%63.6%61.5%66.6%60.5%73.4%70.0%64.2%
Employment to population ratio - monthly change-0.1 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.1 pts0.5 pts-0.1 pts0.0 pts
Unemployment rate3.3%3.8%3.8%4.0%3.6%3.8%3.6%2.9%3.6%
Unemployment rate - monthly change0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts
Underemployment rate5.8%6.1%6.4%7.4%5.7%7.6%3.8%4.7%6.1%
Underemployment rate - monthly change0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.1 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts-0.2 pts-0.1 pts0.0 pts
Participation rate65.9%67.2%66.1%64.1%69.1%63.0%76.1%72.1%66.7%
Participation rate - monthly change-0.1 pts0.1 pts0.0 pts0.1 pts0.0 pts0.1 pts0.5 pts-0.1 pts0.0 pts
April 2023 - Seasonally adjusted
New South WalesVictoriaQueenslandSouth AustraliaWestern AustraliaTasmaniaNorthern TerritoryAustralian Capital TerritoryAustralia
Employed people4,315,3003,588,3002,801,700941,1001,530,000291,400143,600261,40013,882,100
Employed people - monthly change0.2%-0.7%-0.2%-0.7%0.1%-1.0%1.0%-1.1%0.0%
Employment to population ratio63.7%64.7%63.6%61.5%66.6%60.5%73.4%69.6%64.2%
Employment to population ratio - monthly change0.0 pts-0.6 pts-0.3 pts-0.6 pts-0.1 pts-0.7 pts0.6 pts-0.9 pts-0.2 pts
Unemployment rate3.4%3.9%3.9%4.3%3.6%3.9%3.4%3.0%3.7%
Unemployment rate - monthly change0.1 pts0.2 pts0.0 pts0.6 pts0.2 pts-0.1 pts-0.1 pts0.2 pts0.1 pts
Underemployment rate5.8%6.0%6.3%7.6%5.7%7.6%3.7%4.7%6.1%
Underemployment rate - monthly change-0.4 pts-0.2 pts-0.2 pts0.3 pts0.0 pts0.1 pts-0.1 pts0.5 pts-0.1 pts
Participation rate65.9%67.3%66.1%64.2%69.1%63.0%75.9%71.7%66.7%
Participation rate - monthly change0.0 pts-0.4 pts-0.3 pts-0.2 pts0.1 pts-0.7 pts0.5 pts-0.8 pts-0.1 pts

Historical charts

Historical charts for employed, unemployed, unemployment rate and participation rate from August 1966 to April 2023

Historical Labour Force estimates of employment, unemployment rate, and participation rate from the historical quarterly and monthly Labour Force Survey.

Prior to 1978 the historical Labour Force Survey was collected quarterly; the current Labour Force Survey is collected monthly. Please refer to the history of changes to see the differences between the historical and current Labour Force Survey.