This release is published on a quarterly basis, with quarterly data published for the September, December and March quarters, and a combined June quarter and annual financial year release.
Barriers and Incentives to Labour Force Participation, Australia
Latest release
People not working, or working less than they prefer, including whether they want to work, are looking for work, and factors for them to start working
Reference period
March 2025
Released
12/08/2025
Release date and time
12/08/2025 11:30am AEST
Key statistics
In March quarter 2025:
- 1.2 million people (aged 18-75) without a (paid) job wanted a job, with 1.1 million available to start within 4 weeks.
- The most common reason men who wanted a job were unavailable to start within 4 weeks was 'Short-term illness or injury'.
- The most common reason women who wanted a job were unavailable to start within 4 weeks was 'Caring for children'.
- 2.1 million people without a job did not want a job, with a further 1.9 million either retired or permanently unable to work.
People who did not have a job
In March quarter 2025, there were 19 million people aged 18-75 years. Of these:
- 14 million were employed or had a job to start or return to (73%)
- 1.9 million were retired or permanently unable to work (10%)
- 3.3 million did not have a (paid) job (17%) - 1.2 million people wanted a (paid) job (37%) and 2.1 million people did not want a (paid) job (63%).
Of the 1.2 million people who wanted a job, 1.1 million (89%) were available within 4 weeks and 140,000 (11%) were not available within 4 weeks.
Note: The survey was conducted every second year prior to 2022-23.
In March quarter 2025, of those aged 18-75 years who did not have a job, were not retired and not permanently unable to work:
- 2.1 million had a long-term health condition, and of these, 741,300 (35%) wanted a paid job.
- 1.3 million had a disability, with 493,000 of these people wanting a paid job (38%).
Note that people can report having both a long-term health condition and a disability.
People who did not want to work
Of the 2.1 million people aged 18-75 years who did not want a job in March 2025, the main reason for not wanting a job was 'No need, satisfied with current arrangements' (41%). For both men and women aged 18-24 years, 'Studying or returning to studies' was the main reason for not wanting a job (78% for men and 65% for women).
For women aged 25-39 years, 'Caring for children' (53%) was the main reason for not wanting a job, down from 70% in December 2024.
For both men and women aged 40-54 years, 'Long-term health condition or disability' was the main reason for not wanting a job (25% for men and 26% for Women).
People who were not available to work
The main reasons women who wanted a job were not available within 4 weeks were:
- Caring for children (42%)
- Caring for ill, disabled or elderly (17%).
The main reasons men who wanted a job were not available within 4 weeks were:
- Short-term illness or injury (40%).
- Long-term health condition or disability (28%).
Incentives to work
Of the 3.3 million people who did not have a job in March quarter 2025, the most important factor associated with either returning to or commencing work was 'Finding a job that matches skills and experience', which was rated as 'Very important' by 34% of people.
For people with a long-term health condition, the most important factors were 'Ability to work part-time hours' (31%) and 'Finding a job that matches skills and experience' (31%). For people with a disability, it was 'Finding a job that matches skills and experience' (32%).
Data downloads
Quarterly time series
Data files
Table Q1. Participation status
Table Q2. Whether wanted a job or more hours
Table Q3. Unavailable workers and job seekers
Table Q4. Reasons not looking for work or more hours
Table Q5. Difficulties finding work or more hours
Table Q6. Reasons for not wanting to work or more hours
Table Q7. Incentives to work
Previous catalogue number
This release previously used catalogue number 6239.0.