About labour statistics guide
Learn more about our different measures, data sources and information available
Overview
Labour statistics are about people. They measure people's participation in work – their earnings, type of work, working hours and conditions – as well as their success in, or barriers to, finding work.
Labour statistics provide insight into the economy and the effect of policy settings on the population through measures related to labour supply and demand, as well as its price.
Measures and uses
Labour statistics sit at the intersection of economic and social statistics. They provide information about the size and structure of Australia's workforce required for policy formulation, evaluation and macro-economic modelling, and measure relationships between employment, income and other social and economic characteristics.
Four key components related to work and the broader labour market are measured:
- People
- Jobs
- Hours
- Payments
The various data sources and available information related to people, jobs, hours and payments are designed for different purposes, and can have different definitions, timings or features. We encourage you to use a range of measures together to better understand the state of the labour market. For more information, see Scope of Australian labour statistics and Uses and users of labour statistics in Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods.
The four pillars of ABS labour statistics
ABS labour statistics are drawn from four key types of data sources, or "pillars" of data, which provide complementary insights into the labour market across a range of topics.
For more information, see Methods: Four pillars of labour statistics in Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods.
The four pillars
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Description
Statistical releases
Our labour-related statistical releases inform on issues related to work and the labour market. These releases are drawn from a variety of different data sources and are available on the ABS website.
Each release generally includes a high-level overview of findings, spreadsheets containing more detailed data, and a methodology page providing explanatory information on the methods used to produce the release. Some releases also have accompanying TableBuilder and/or microdata products to enable you to produce customised tables or undertake more detailed analysis.
Most releases include a media release covering high level statistical information drawing out the main stories of interest from the latest statistics.
Some labour statistics releases are accompanied by articles providing in depth analysis of a statistical topic of interest. They explain the data, changes over time and underlying factors.
Labour statistics by theme
The tables below show our releases grouped according to the labour market theme(s) they provide data for.
| Release | Pillar | Frequency | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Account Australia | Accounts | Quarterly | Employment by sector and by Industry – Division level (quarterly) and Sub-division (annual). |
| Labour Force, Australia; Labour Force, Australia, Detailed; Longitudinal Labour Force | Household survey | Monthly | Headline employment estimates. Labour force status over time including short-term transitions, for example flows into and out of employment and unemployment. |
| Household survey | Annual | Labour force characteristics for whole families, for example 'jobless families'. Sourced from the monthly Labour Force Survey. | |
| Employment and Earnings, Public Sector | Business survey | Annual | Public sector estimates by state/territory, and level of government. |
| Retirement and Retirement Intentions | Household survey | Two-yearly | Retirement age, retirement expectations, sources of income in retirement. |
| Release | Pillar | Frequency | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Account Australia | Accounts | Quarterly | Jobs (total jobs, main and secondary filled jobs and unfilled jobs) by sector and by Industry – Division level (quarterly) and Sub-division (annual). |
| Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages | Admin data | Monthly | Weekly payroll jobs indexes including percentage change movement, based on Single Touch Payroll data. |
| Job Vacancies | Business survey | Quarterly | Frequent measure of unmet labour demand – leading indicator of employment. |
| Jobs in Australia | Admin data | Annual | Detailed geographic, demographic, industry and occupation data on filled jobs, based on Personal Income Tax data. |
| Job mobility | Household survey | Annual | Job changes over the year, and previous job details. Sourced from the annual Participation Job Search and Mobility Labour Force supplementary survey. |
| Release | Pillar | Frequency | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Account Australia | Accounts | Quarterly | Hours worked across entire quarter – Division level (quarterly) and Sub-division (annual). |
| Labour Force, Australia; Labour Force, Australia, Detailed; Longitudinal Labour Force | Household survey | Monthly | Reference week hours actually and usually worked, total monthly hours worked. Month-to-month changes. |
| Underemployed workers | Household survey | Annual | Hours worked and not worked of the underemployed. Sourced from the monthly Labour Force Survey, supplemented with data from the annual Participation Job Search and Mobility Labour Force supplementary survey. |
| Working arrangements | Household survey | Annual | Regularity/certainty of hours, including whether guaranteed minimum hours. Sourced from the annual Characteristics of Employment Labour Force supplementary survey. |
| Employee Earnings and Hours | Business survey | Two-yearly | Average weekly total hours paid for. |
| Release | Pillar | Frequency | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Force, Australia; Labour Force, Australia, Detailed; Longitudinal Labour Force | Household survey | Monthly | Headline unemployment estimates. |
| Barriers and Incentives to Labour Force Participation | Household survey | Two-yearly | Factors that influence how people participate in the labour market and the hours they work. |
| Potential workers | Household survey | Annual | Measures potential labour supply. Sourced from the annual Participation Job Search and Mobility Labour Force supplementary survey. |
| Underemployed workers | Household survey | Annual | Comprehensive measure of extent of cyclical and structural underemployment. Sourced from the monthly Labour Force Survey, supplemented with data from the annual Participation Job Search and Mobility Labour Force supplementary survey. |
| Release | Pillar | Frequency | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Force, Australia; Labour Force, Australia, Detailed; Longitudinal Labour Force | Household survey | Monthly | Labour force status over time, including short-term transitions and flows into and out of employment and unemployment. |
| Job mobility | Household survey | Annual | Job changes over the year, and previous job details. Sourced from the annual Participation Job Search and Mobility Labour Force supplementary survey. |
| Release | Pillar | Frequency | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Weekly Earnings | Business survey | Six-monthly | Headline level estimates of earnings. Used extensively in legislation. |
| Employee Earnings and Hours | Business survey | Two-yearly | Composition and distribution of weekly and hourly earnings, and pay-setting methods. |
| Employee earnings | Household survey | Annual | Earnings for detailed demographic and employment characteristics. Sourced from the annual Characteristics of Employment Labour Force supplementary survey. |
| Employment and Earnings, Public Sector | Business survey | Annual | Public sector estimates by state/territory, and level of government. |
| Labour Account Australia | Accounts | Quarterly | Labour payments, labour costs, labour income, compensation of employees, by sector and by Industry – Division level (quarterly) and Sub-division (annual). |
| Labour Costs | Business survey | Irregular | Components of labour costs – Earnings, Superannuation, Payroll tax, workers compensation, Fringe Benefits Tax. |
| Personal Income in Australia | Admin data | Annual | Detailed geographic, demographic and occupation data on personal income, based on Personal Income Tax data. |
| Wage Price Index | Business survey | Quarterly | Quarterly and annual wage indexes, unaffected by changes in compositional factors including employee characteristics and hours worked by industry, state/territory and sector. |
| Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages | Admin data | Monthly | Weekly total wage indexes including percentage change movement, based on Single Touch Payroll data. |
| Release | Pillar | Frequency | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee Earnings and Hours | Business survey | Two-yearly | Earnings and hours statistics by method of setting pay, and employment status and type. |
| Industrial Disputes | Business survey | Quarterly | Number of disputes, employees involved and working days lost. |
| Working arrangements | Household survey | Annual | Sourced from the annual Characteristics of Employment Labour Force supplementary survey, supplemented by data from the monthly Labour Force Survey. |
| Work-related injuries | Household survey | Four-yearly | Including type of injury, job details and work-related injury financial assistance. |
| Trade union membership | Household survey | Two-yearly | Sourced from Characteristics of Employment Labour Force supplementary survey. |
| Pregnancy and employment transitions | Household survey | Irregular | Labour market participation of women during pregnancy and after the birth. |
| Release | Pillar | Frequency | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Census of Population and Housing | Household survey | Five-yearly | Collects data from everyone on a range of topics, including income and work. |
| Education and work | Household survey | Annual | Education participation and attainment, along with engagement in education and work. |
| Personal Income of Migrants | Admin data | Annual | Estimates of personal income of migrants including by visa stream and type of income, sourced from the Personal Income Tax and Migrants Integrated Dataset. |
| Characteristics of recent migrants | Household survey | Three-yearly - Discontinued | Employment outcomes relating to visa type, birth country, education and language skills. Final release: November 2019. |
| Qualifications and work | Household survey | Irregular | Education qualifications and relevance to current jobs. |
| Voluntary work | Household survey | Irregular | Provision of unpaid help beyond own family and household. Sourced from the General Social Survey. |
Customised data
There are a number of ways to access more detailed data through self-service or working with the ABS, in addition to what is available on the ABS website including:
- TableBuilder – Create, save and download your own tables using many topics
- Microdata – Basic and detailed unit record information released through the DataLab to approved users for statistical analysis and research
- Integrated data – The ABS is an accredited Integrating Authority, and works with government, research institutions and businesses on data integration projects that have a clear public benefit
- Customised data requests – Consultancy service providing aggregate data tailored to meet your needs
Some of these services may incur a fee, see Data Services for more information.
Information about labour statistics
- Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods provides a comprehensive description of the concepts and definitions underpinning labour statistics and the data sources and methods used to compile them. It should be read together with release specific methodology pages.
- Guide to labour statistics is a summary resource on key labour market topics, designed to help people to understand labour statistics and identify the best source for their analysis. Additional topics will be added over time.