Labour Force, Australia

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

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Reference period
April 2023
Released
18/05/2023
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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. 

February 1978 to April 2023 estimated monthly, before February 1978 estimated quarterly

Source: 6204.0.55.001 Labour Force Historical Timeseries, Australia, 1966-1984, Seasonally adjusted estimates of the labour force by sex and marital status - 1966-1977 and 6202.0 Labour Force, Australia, Table 1

February 1978 to April 2023 estimated monthly, before February 1978 estimated quarterly

Source: 6204.0.55.001 Labour Force Historical Timeseries, Australia, 1966-1984, Seasonally adjusted estimates of the labour force by sex and marital status - 1966-1977 and 6202.0 Labour Force, Australia, Table 1

February 1978 to April 2023 estimated monthly, before February 1978 estimated quarterly

Source: 6204.0.55.001 Labour Force Historical Timeseries, Australia, 1966-1984, Seasonally adjusted estimates of the labour force by sex and marital status - 1966-1977 and 6202.0 Labour Force, Australia, Table 1

February 1978 to April 2023 estimated monthly, before February 1978 estimated quarterly

Source: 6204.0.55.001 Labour Force Historical Timeseries, Australia, 1966-1984, Seasonally adjusted estimates of the labour force by sex and marital status - 1966-1977 and 6202.0 Labour Force, Australia, Table 1

Rotation group analysis

Sample composition and rotation

The Labour Force Survey sample can be thought of as comprising eight sub-samples (rotation groups), with each sub-sample remaining in the survey for eight months, and one group "rotating out" each month and being replaced by a new group "rotating in". As seven-eighths of the sample are common from one month to the next, changes in the estimates reflect real changes in the labour market, rather than changes in the sample. The replacement sample is generally selected from the same geographic areas as the outgoing one, as part of a representative sampling approach.

The sample comprises three components:

  • the matched common sample (people who responded in both the current month and previous month)
  • the unmatched common sample (people who responded in the current month but who did not respond in the previous month, or vice versa)
  • the incoming rotation group (replacing people who rotated out)

The matched common sample describes the change observed for the same respondents in the current and previous month, while the other two components reflect differences between the aggregate labour force status of different groups of people.

While the rotation groups are designed to be representative of the population, the outgoing and incoming rotation groups will almost always have somewhat different characteristics, as they reflect different households and people. The design of the survey, including the weighting and estimation processes, ensures that these differences are generally relatively minor and do not affect the representativeness of the survey and its estimates. Monthly estimates are designed to be representative, regardless of the relative contribution of the three components of the sample.

The contributions of the three sample components to the original estimates of employed, unemployed and not in the labour force are in the Contribution from sample components to estimates spreadsheet.

Estimates for the incoming and outgoing rotation groups

Incoming and outgoing rotation groups
March outgoing rotation groupApril incoming rotation groupApril outgoing rotation groupApril estimate (Original)
Employment to population ratio63.4%64.7%63.4%64.2%
Full-time employment to population ratio44.2%44.8%44.2%44.9%
Unemployment rate3.2%4.3%3.4%3.8%
Participation rate65.4%67.6%65.6%66.7%

States and Territories

In addition to analysis across the entire sample, the ABS also undertakes similar analysis for the responding sample in each state and territory each month, and highlights where there is a notable change for users to be aware of. For example, in April 2023, the incoming rotation group in South Australia had a higher unemployment rate and participation rate than the group it replaced. As with any notable month-to-month movement of this nature in state and territory estimates, the ABS recommends exercising a degree of caution in interpreting short-term changes.

As for its reporting for the entire sample, where the ABS has not highlighted a notable incoming rotation group effect, any larger changes should therefore be considered to reflect a broader change across the sample.

Comparability with seasonally adjusted and trend data

The gross flows and rotation group data are in original terms only, and are included to provide additional information on the month-to-month movements. They have a considerable level of inherent sampling variability, which is specifically adjusted for in the trend and seasonally adjusted series. The trend data provides the best measure of the underlying behaviour of the labour market and is the focus of the commentary in this publication.

Contribution from sample components to estimates

Data files
Download xlsx [42.21 KB]

Data downloads

Labour Force Survey results are released in three stages.

  1. Spreadsheets of the headline indicators are published in this release
  2. Additional, more detailed spreadsheets and pivot tables are published in Labour Force, Australia, Detailed one week after this first release
  3. Longitudinal labour force microdata are released in the ABS DataLab on a monthly basis, one day after the detailed release (see Microdata: Longitudinal Labour Force, Australia)

See the Survey output section of Labour Force, Australia methodology for more information.

Labour Force status

Data files

Hours worked

Data files

  • Table 19. Monthly hours worked in all jobs by Employed full-time, part-time and Sex and by State and Territory - Trend and Seasonally adjusted

    Download xlsx [257.49 KB]

  • Table 19a. Monthly hours worked in all jobs by Employed full-time, part-time and Sex and Territory - Seasonally adjusted

    Download xlsx [60.75 KB]

  • Table 21. Quarterly hours worked in all jobs by Market and Non-market sector - Seasonally adjusted

    Download xlsx [57.5 KB]

  • EM2a - Employed persons who worked fewer hours than usual by hours actually worked in all jobs and sex, January 1991 onwards (pivot table)

    Download xlsx [21.72 MB]

  • EM2b - Employed persons who worked fewer hours than usual by hours actually worked in all jobs, state and territory, January 1991 onwards (pivot table)

    Download xlsx [10.1 MB]

Underemployment and underutilisation

Data files

Flows into and out of employment

GM1 - Labour force status and Gross changes (flows) by Age, Sex, State and Territory, February 1991 onwards

Data files
Download xlsx [96.71 MB]

All time series spreadsheets

All time series spreadsheets

Data files
Download zip [26.29 MB]


 

Data Explorer datasets

Caution: Data in the Data Explorer is currently released after the 11:30am release on the ABS website. Please check the time period when using Data Explorer.

For information on Data Explorer and how it works, see the Data Explorer user guide.

Labour Force status by Sex, State and Territory - Number of people employed, unemployed and not in the labour force, monthly, February 1978 and onwards.

Labour Force monthly hours worked by Sex, State and Territory - Monthly hours worked by employed people, monthly, July 1978 and onwards.

Article archive

Understanding the labour force

Historical charts from August 1966 to February 2023 (February 2023)

Historical charts from August 1966 to January 2023 (January 2023)

Historical charts from August 1966 to December 2022 (December 2022)

Historical charts from August 1966 to November 2022 (November 2022)

Historical charts from August 1966 to October 2022 (October 2022)

Historical charts from August 1966 to September 2022 (September 2022)

Historical charts from August 1966 to August 2022 (August 2022)

Historical charts from August 1966 to July 2022 (July 2022)

Historical charts from August 1966 to June 2022 (June 2022)

Historical charts from August 1966 to May 2022 (May 2022)

Historical charts from August 1966 to April 2022 (April 2022)

Historical charts from 1966 (March 2022)

Understanding full-time and part-time work (January 2021)

Understanding differences between Labour Force employment statistics and Weekly Payroll Jobs (April 2020)

Classifying people during the COVID-19 period (March 2020)

Labour Force Explained (September 2017)

Understanding the Australian labour force using ABS statistics (December 2013)

Understanding full-time / part-time status in the Labour Force Survey (September 2013)

Employment level estimates versus employment to population ratio explained (January 2012)

Employment and jobs

Charts on casual employment, occupation, industry and job mobility (February 2023)

Charts on casual employment, occupation, industry and job mobility (November 2022)

Charts on casual employment, occupation, industry and job mobility (August 2022)

Charts on casual employment, occupation and industry (May 2022)

Insights into job mobility from quarterly Labour Force Statistics (February 2022)

Charts on casual employment, occupation and industry (February 2022)

Insights into job mobility from quarterly Labour Force statistics (December 2021)

Charts on casual employment, occupation and industry (November 2021)

Charts on casual employment, occupation and industry (August 2021)

Charts on casual employment, occupation and industry (May 2021)

Changing female employment over time (February 2021)

Insights into casual employment, occupation and industry (November 2020)

Strong employment growth for non-employees (August 2020)

State and territory employment and hours worked (August 2020)

Employment and unemployment: An International Perspective (August 2020)

Flows into and out of employment and unemployment (June 2020)

Insights into industry and occupation (May 2020)

Employment and unemployment: An international perspective (May 2020)

Employment and unemployment: An international perspective (April 2020)

People moving into or out of employment or unemployment every month (March 2020)

How many people work one hour a week (January 2019)

Leave entitlements (November 2015)

Duration of employment (November 2015)

Sector of main job (November 2015)

Estimating jobs in the Australian labour market (February 2013)

Employment in mining in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia (May 2012)

Unemployment and underemployment

Insights into job attachment, January 2023 (January 2023)

Insights into job attachment during the pandemic (February 2022)

Insights into job attachment during the pandemic (January 2022)

Insights into job attachment during the pandemic (November 2021)

Insights into job attachment during the pandemic (October 2021)

Underemployment: Reduced hours or prefers more hours (December 2020)

Employment and unemployment: An International Perspective (August 2020)

Understanding unemployment and the loss of work during the COVID-19 period: An Australian and international perspective (July 2020)

Flows into and out of employment and unemployment (June 2020)

Employment and unemployment: An International Perspective (June 2020)

People who lost a job or were stood down: flows analysis (May 2020)

Employment and unemployment: An international perspective (May 2020)

Hours not worked - Hours-based measures of unemployment and underemployment (May 2020)

People who lost a job or were stood down: Flows analysis (April 2020)

Reasons people are not in the labour force (April 2020)

Employment and unemployment: An international perspective (April 2020)

Underemployment in Australia (September 2018)

Spotlight on underemployment (November 2016)

Measures of underemployment and underutilisation (November 2015)

Full-time and part-time job search (November 2015)

Hours-based measures of unemployment and underemployment (November 2015)

Retrenchment (November 2015)

Did you know - Underemployment (June 2013)

Exploring labour force data on joblessness (February 2012)

 

Hours worked

Insights into hours worked (March 2023)

Insights into hours worked (February 2023)

Insights into hours worked (January 2023)

Insights into hours worked (December 2022)

Insights into hours worked (November 2022)

Insights into hours worked (October 2022)

Insights into hours worked (September 2022)

Insights into hours worked (August 2022)

Insights into hours worked (July 2022)

Insight into hours worked (June 2022)

Insight into hours worked (May 2022)

Insight into hours worked (April 2022)

Insights into hours worked (March 2022)

Insights into hours worked (February 2022)

Insights into hours worked (January 2022)

Insights into hours worked (December 2021)

Insights into hours worked (November 2021)

Insights into hours worked (October 2021)

Insights into hours worked (September 2021)

Insights into hours worked (August 2021)

Insights into hours worked (July 2021)

Insights into hours worked (June 2021)

Insights into hours worked (May 2021)

Insights into hours worked (April 2021)

Insights into hours worked (March 2021)

How many people work one hour a week? (March 2021)

Insights into hours worked (February 2021)

Insights into hours worked (January 2021)

Insights into hours worked (December 2020)

Insights into hours worked (November 2020)

Insights into hours worked (October 2020)

Insights into hours worked (September 2020)

Insights into hours worked (August 2020)

State and territory employment and hours worked (August 2020)

Insights into hours worked (July 2020)

Insights into hours worked (June 2020)

Hours not worked - Hours-based measures of unemployment and underemployment (May 2020)

Insights into hours worked (May 2020)

People working fewer hours (April 2020)

Insights into hours worked (April 2020)

Reasons for working fewer hours (March 2020)

Insights into hours worked (March 2020)

Insights into detailed Labour Force Survey hours worked data (February 2020)

Revisions to monthly hours worked in all jobs (July 2016)

 

Regional estimates

Impacts on the Australian labour market: A regional perspective (April 2020)

Advice on reporting regional labour force data (December 2017)

Analysis of changes to Labour Force regional estimates (February 2014)

LFS content and output

ABS Labour Statistics: A broad range of information (July 2019)

500th issue of 6202.0 (January 2018)

Labour Force Survey pivot tables (August 2017)

Expanded education data from the Labour Force Survey (August 2016)

Change to Status in Employment output (July 2015)

Forthcoming improvements to the content of the Labour Force and Labour Supplementary Surveys (January 2013)

Upcoming changes to the Labour Force Survey (July 2012)

Labour Household Surveys content review (June 2012)

Methodology

Major Rebenchmarking of Labour Force Estimates (November 2022)

Improvement to the trending method for Labour Force rates and ratios (October 2019)

Assessing volatility in Labour Force statistics (July 2019)

On-line collection in the Labour Force Survey (April 2019)

Annual seasonal re-analysis (March 2019)

Improvements to trend estimation (March 2018)

Major re-benchmarking of Labour Force series (October 2017)

Changes to filter lengths used in labour statistics (February 2017)

Update on recommendation 7 from the independent technical review (November 2015)

Progress with recommendations from the independent technical review (July 2015)

Update on recommendations 10 and 11 from the independent technical review (June 2015)

Update on recommendation 7 from the independent technical review (May 2015)

Update on recommendations from the independent technical review (March 2015)

Rebenchmarking Labour Force estimates (February 2015)

Independent technical review into the Labour Force Survey (November 2014)

Removing the effect of supplementary surveys from seasonally adjusted estimates (October 2014)

Rebenchmarking Labour Force estimates to the 2011 Census (January 2014)

New Labour Force sample design (May 2013)

Transition to online collection of the Labour Force survey (April 2013)

Rebenchmarking of Labour Force series (November 2012)

Population benchmarks and Labour Force Survey (April 2012)

Historical revisions (February 2011)

Impact of the floods on the Labour Force Survey (January 2011)

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6202.0.

Methodology

Labour Force, Australia methodology, April 2023

Articles

Media releases