Labour Force, Australia

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

Reference period
May 2023
Released
15/06/2023

Key statistics

In trend terms, in May 2023:

  • unemployment rate remained at 3.5%.
  • participation rate remained at 66.8%.
  • employment increased to 14,003,400.
  • employment to population ratio remained at 64.4%.
  • underemployment rate increased to 6.3%.
  • monthly hours worked increased to 1,944 million.

In seasonally adjusted terms, in May 2023:

  • unemployment rate decreased to 3.6%.
  • participation rate increased to 66.9%.
  • employment increased to 14,011,800.
  • employment to population ratio increased to 64.5%.
  • underemployment rate increased to 6.4%.
  • monthly hours worked decreased to 1,944 million.
  • full-time employment increased by 61,700 to 9,826,200 people.
  • part-time employment increased by 14,300 to 4,185,600 people.
Key statistics - Trend
Apr-2023May-2023Monthly changeMonthly change (%)Yearly changeYearly change (%)
Employed people13,963,60014,003,40039,8000.3%426,6003.1%
Unemployed people511,700512,8001,1000.2%-14,500-2.8%
Unemployment rate3.5%3.5%0.0 ptsna-0.2 ptsna
Underemployment rate6.2%6.3%0.0 ptsna0.1 ptsna
Participation rate66.8%66.8%0.0 ptsna0.1 ptsna
Monthly hours worked in all jobs 1,937 million 1,944 million7 million0.4%99 million5.4%
Key statistics - Seasonally adjusted
Apr-2023May-2023Monthly changeMonthly change (%)Yearly changeYearly change (%)
Employed people13,935,80014,011,80075,9000.5%465,5003.4%
Unemployed people532,400515,900-16,500-3.1%-35,500-6.4%
Unemployment rate3.7%3.6%-0.1 ptsna-0.4 ptsna
Underemployment rate6.2%6.4%0.3 ptsna0.5 ptsna
Participation rate66.7%66.9%0.1 ptsna0.2 ptsna
Monthly hours worked in all jobs 1,980 million 1,944 million-36 million-1.8%88 million4.8%

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

As Labour Force hours worked data are returning to normal patterns, the ABS ceased publishing the article ‘insights into hours worked’ in the April 2023 publication.  The data cubes EM2a and EM2b, usually published in the detailed release, 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.

Quarterly rebenchmarking of labour force statistics

The ABS has revised the original Labour Force series from October 2021 to reflect the latest available preliminary and final estimates of the Estimated Resident Population. This quarterly process ensures that the Labour Force series promptly reflect any change in population trends and minimises the size of revisions that can occur when the series are rebenchmarked following each Census of Population and Housing.

In response to COVID-19 related changes in travel, the ABS has been revising preliminary Net Overseas Migration estimates more frequently. Net Overseas Migration estimates are a component of population estimates, from which Labour Force benchmarks are produced. These revisions have been incorporated into the quarterly rebenchmarking revisions. For more information, please refer to 'Net Overseas Migration revisions in Labour Force benchmarks during COVID-19'.

The usual resident civilian population in March 2023 was revised up by around 0.3% (around 64,000 people).

Revisions to original series also result in revisions to seasonally adjusted series.

The current Labour Force population benchmarks are derived from estimated resident population (ERP) based on the 2021 Census (preliminary rebased ERP).

In the November 2023 publication, to be released on 14 December 2023, the Labour Force population benchmarks will be updated to reflect the latest estimated resident population (ERP) based on the 2021 Census (final rebased ERP). This is a regular 5-yearly rebasing process which follows each Census, and ensures the Labour Force estimates are benchmarked to the most recent population information. This process will result in revisions to Labour Force estimates going back to 2016. This follows a similar process to that undertaken in 2018.

Survey response and timeline

The May Labour Force Survey was run in respect of the two weeks from Sunday 30 April to Saturday 13 May, and collected over the period from Sunday 7 May to Saturday 27 May.

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
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
Sep-233rd September 202316th September 202310th September 202330th September 2023

Unemployment

In trend terms, in May 2023:

  • unemployment rate remained at 3.5%.
  • unemployed people decreased by 1,100 to 512,800. 
  • youth unemployment rate remained at 7.8%.

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, May 2023.

Employment

In trend terms, in May 2023, employment increased by 39,800 people (0.3%) to 14,003,400 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 May 2023, the net change in the number of employed people is the result of around 528,000 people entering employment (i.e. they were not employed in April but were employed in May), while around 385,000 people left employment (i.e. they were employed in April but not employed in May). This contrasts with April 2023, where around 482,000 people entered employment and around 544,000 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, May 2023.

Full-time and part-time employment

In trend terms, in May 2023:

  • full-time employment increased by 33,100 to 9,818,100 people, and part-time employment increased by 6,700 to 4,185,300 people.
  • part-time share of employment was 29.9%.

 

Employment-to-population ratio

In trend terms, in May 2023, the employment-to-population ratio remained at 64.4%.

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, May 2023.

Hours worked

In trend terms, in May 2023, monthly hours worked in all jobs increased by 7.2 million hours (0.4%) to 1,944 million hours.

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, May 2023.

Participation

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

  • remained at 66.8%.
  • remained at 71.2% for men and increased to 62.6% 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, May 2023.

Underemployment

In trend terms, in May 2023:

  • underemployment rate increased to 6.3%.
  • underutilisation rate remained at 9.8%.

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, May 2023.

States and Territories

May 2023 - Trend
New South WalesVictoriaQueenslandSouth AustraliaWestern AustraliaTasmaniaNorthern TerritoryAustralian Capital TerritoryAustralia
Employed people4,346,8003,620,5002,837,700954,4001,541,200291,200144,300266,80014,003,400
Employed people - monthly change0.2%0.4%0.4%0.4%0.1%0.2%0.6%0.4%0.3%
Employment to population ratio63.9%64.9%63.9%62.0%66.5%60.4%73.6%71.0%64.4%
Employment to population ratio - monthly change0.0 pts0.1 pts0.1 pts0.1 pts-0.1 pts0.0 pts0.3 pts0.1 pts0.0 pts
Unemployment rate3.1%3.7%3.9%3.9%3.6%4.0%3.3%2.9%3.5%
Unemployment rate - monthly change0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts-0.1 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts
Underemployment rate6.1%5.9%6.6%7.2%6.0%7.4%4.1%5.2%6.3%
Underemployment rate - monthly change0.1 pts-0.1 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.1 pts-0.1 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts0.0 pts
Participation rate66.0%67.4%66.5%64.6%69.0%62.9%76.2%73.1%66.8%
Participation rate - monthly change0.0 pts0.1 pts0.1 pts0.1 pts-0.1 pts0.0 pts0.3 pts0.1 pts0.0 pts
May 2023 - Seasonally adjusted
New South WalesVictoriaQueenslandSouth AustraliaWestern AustraliaTasmaniaNorthern TerritoryAustralian Capital TerritoryAustralia
Employed people4,356,8003,627,8002,851,200956,5001,539,300290,900142,000267,80014,011,800
Employed people - monthly change0.7%0.7%1.0%1.3%-0.2%-0.1%-1.2%2.9%0.5%
Employment to population ratio64.1%65.1%64.2%62.2%66.4%60.4%72.4%71.3%64.5%
Employment to population ratio - monthly change0.3 pts0.3 pts0.4 pts0.7 pts-0.3 pts-0.1 pts-1.0 pts1.9 pts0.2 pts
Unemployment rate3.0%3.7%3.9%4.0%3.7%4.2%3.1%3.1%3.6%
Unemployment rate - monthly change-0.4 pts-0.2 pts0.1 pts-0.3 pts0.1 pts0.3 pts-0.2 pts0.1 pts-0.1 pts
Underemployment rate6.2%5.8%6.8%7.1%6.4%6.9%4.7%5.3%6.4%
Underemployment rate - monthly change0.5 pts-0.1 pts0.5 pts-0.5 pts0.7 pts-0.6 pts1.0 pts0.6 pts0.3 pts
Participation rate66.1%67.6%66.8%64.8%68.9%63.1%74.7%73.6%66.9%
Participation rate - monthly change0.0 pts0.2 pts0.5 pts0.5 pts-0.2 pts0.1 pts-1.2 pts2.0 pts0.1 pts

Historical charts

Historical charts for employed, unemployed, unemployment rate and participation rate from August 1966 to May 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.