6105.0 - Australian Labour Market Statistics, Jul 2004  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 02/07/2004   
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FEATURE ARTICLE - Children living without an employed parent
FEATURE ARTICLE - Labour Force Survey Regions
FEATURE ARTICLE - Spotlight on Industrial Disputes
FEATURE ARTICLE - Labour Underutilisation


NOTES

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

The Labour Market Summary table now contains all five annual labour underutilisation rates. Table 4.1 has also been revised, with the addition of the underemployment rate.



DATA CONTAINED IN THIS ISSUE

The statistics shown are the latest available at 24 June 2004. Data sources for the tables in this publication are listed in Appendix 1.



ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

The spreadsheets and data cubes referenced in this publication are available on the ABS web site. To find them, go to the home page and follow the links to Data cubes and Time Series Spreadsheets.



INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Tracey Chester on Canberra (02) 6252 7636.

For email enquiries, please contact Client Services on client.services@abs.gov.au.



LABOUR MARKET SUMMARY


KEY MEASURES

% change from
Measure
Series type
Period
Current figure
Previous quarter(a)
Previous year(b)

Employed
Persons'000
Trend
May 2004
9,669.5
0.7
2.4
Full-time'000
Trend
May 2004
6,913.5
0.6
2.8
Part-time'000
Trend
May 2004
2,756.0
0.9
1.4
Part-time employment as a proportion of total employment%
Trend
May 2004
28.5
(c)0.1
(c)-0.3
Unemployed
Persons'000
Trend
May 2004
569.3
-2.0
-8.8
Looking for full-time work'000
Trend
May 2004
420.7
-0.8
-9.9
Looking for part-time work'000
Trend
May 2004
148.6
-5.0
-5.6
Unemployment rate
Persons%
Trend
May 2004
5.6
(c)-0.1
(c)-0.6
Long-term unemployment
Persons'000
Trend
May 2004
117.8
-2.7
-11.9
As a proportion of total unemployment%
Trend
May 2004
20.7
(c)-0.2
(c)-0.7
Annual labour underutilisation rates(d)
Long-term unemployment rate%
Original
Sep 2003
1.3
na
(c)-0.1
Unemployment rate%
Original
Sep 2003
5.9
na
(c)-0.5
Underemployment rate%
Original
Sep 2003
5.6
na
(c)-0.2
Labour force underutilisation rate%
Original
Sep 2003
11.5
na
(c)-0.6
Extended labour force underutilisation rate%
Original
Sep 2003
12.5
na
(c)-0.7
Children living in families where no parent is employed(e)%
Original
Jun 2003
17.2
na
(c)-0.7
Labour force participation rate
Persons%
Trend
May 2004
63.7
(c)0.1
(c)0.1
Actual hours worked
Aggregate weekly hoursmill. hours
Original
May 2004
334.0
-0.7
2.0
Average weekly hours - Personshours
Original
May 2004
34.6
-1.8
0.0
Average weekly hours - Full-timehours
Original
May 2004
42.0
-0.8
-0.2
Average weekly hours - Part-timehours
Original
May 2004
16.5
-2.3
0.7
Part-time workers
Proportion who preferred to work more hours%
Original
May 2004
25.7
(c)-0.8
(c)0.1
Wage cost index
Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonusesindex no.
Trend
Mar qtr 2004
123.7
0.9
3.7
Average weekly earnings
Full-time adult ordinary time earnings$
Trend
Feb 2004
948.00
1.0
4.9
All employees total earnings$
Trend
Feb 2004
752.30
1.2
5.3
Compensation of employees
Household income account$m
Trend
Mar qtr 2004
95,411
1.4
5.4
Average earnings (National Accounts basis - nominal) per week$
Trend
Mar qtr 2004
896
0.9
3.9
Industrial disputes
Working days lost'000
Original
Mar qtr 2004
76.8
-49.3
15.9
Working days lost per 1,000 employeesnumber
Original
Mar qtr 2004
9.3
-49.7
14.7
Job vacancies
Australia'000
Trend
Feb 2004
105.5
0.8
0.0

na not available
(a) Same period previous quarter (monthly data is presented for the middle month of each quarter).
(b) Same period previous year.
(c) Change is in percentage points.
(d) See table 4.1 or the Glossary for further explanation of labour underutilisation rates.
(e) As a proportion of all children aged under 15 years. See the Explanatory Notes for information on family data.



EMPLOYMENT: TREND SERIES

Full-time and total employment
Graph: Trend full-time and total employment
Males and females
Graph: Trend employment for males and females




PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT: TREND SERIES
Proportion of total employment, Males
Graph: Trend male part-time employment as a proportion of total male employment
Proportion of total employment, Females
Graph: Trend female part-time employment as a proportion of total female employment




UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: TREND SERIES
Males and females
Graph: Trend unemployment rate for males and females




LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT: TREND SERIES
Proportion of total unemployment
Graph: Long-term unemployment as a proportion of total unemployment, males and females




UNDERUTILISED LABOUR
Labour underutilisation rates - 1994-2003
Graph: Labour underutilisation rates—1994–2003




PARTICIPATION RATE: TREND SERIES
Persons
Graph: Trend participation rate
Males
Graph: Trend participation rate of males
Females
Graph: Trend participation rate of females




WAGE COST INDEX: TREND SERIES
Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses, Quarterly change
Graph: Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses, Quarterly change




AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS: TREND SERIES
Full-time adult ordinary time earnings, Quarterly change
Graph: Quarterly change in full-time adult ordinary time earnings
All employees total earnings, Level
Graph: All employees total earnings, level




INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES: ORIGINAL SERIES
Working days lost, Quarter ending
Graph: Working days lost Quarter ending




JOB VACANCIES: TREND SERIES
Job Vacancies, By sector
Graph: Job Vacancies, By sector

LABOUR STATISTICS NEWS


LABOUR THEME PAGE

The ABS Labour Theme Page, available on the ABS web site, provides a guide to the range of ABS statistics on the labour market, as well as links to the latest data released. To find the Theme Page, go to the ABS home page and click on Themes and then Labour.



ABS EMAIL NOTIFICATION SERVICE

By subscribing to this free service, you will be kept informed via email of the latest releases of ABS products. To subscribe, follow the link from the ABS home page, provide your email address, and select your topics of interest.



IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPUTER ASSISTED INTERVIEWING

In October 2003, the ABS began the progressive implementation of computer assisted interviewing (CAI) into the LFS. For the period October 2003 to January 2004, CAI was used on a random 10% sub-sample of interviews. The proportion of survey interviews conducted using CAI has since increased to 40% across Australia in April and May 2004, and 70% in June 2004.


Implementation of CAI is not expected to affect published estimates in any meaningful way. Nonetheless, the ABS is monitoring the situation carefully and has conducted a range of analyses on each month's data. These analyses have confirmed that any effect that the change in interview method may have had on survey responses to date has not materially affected labour force estimates for any month.



NATIONAL STATISTICAL SERVICE WEBSITE

The National Statistical Service (NSS) is an ABS-led initiative which supports the whole of government approach to the management of statistical information. As part of this initiative, a new web site <http://www.nss.gov.au> has been released to assist agencies in applying sound statistical and data management principles and practices. The web site provides a core set of resources, including:

  • NSS Handbook and Key Principles (providing an overview of the statistical process for collection managers, designers, or users of statistical products)
  • directories of statistical sources
  • published Information Development Plans
  • statistical training offered by government agencies
  • papers on statistical best practice
  • concepts, classifications and data dictionaries.


NATIONAL ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SOCIAL SURVEY

The results of the second national social survey of Indigenous people were released on 23 June 2004 in National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2002 (cat. no. 4714.0). This survey was designed to enable analysis of the inter-relationship of social circumstances and outcomes that may be experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Work is one of the broad topic groups that has been covered, and the survey enabled separate identification of work through the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme.



INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES STATISTICS

A number of changes to the release of industrial disputes statistics were introduced with the release of Industrial Disputes, Australia (Electronic Publication) (cat. no. 6321.0.55.001) for the March quarter 2004 on 17 June 2004, including a move from a monthly to a quarterly release. These changes follow a review of the Industrial Disputes collection, and consultation with users. More information is available in the short article on Industrial Disputes statistics included in the spotlight section of this publication, and through the link on the Labour Theme Page.



MAJOR LABOUR COSTS

The 2002-03 Major Labour Costs survey provides statistics on the main costs incurred by private and public sector organisations as a consequence of employing labour. The survey collected data on the following labour costs for the financial year 2002-03: employee earnings (net of reimbursements from government); superannuation; payroll tax; workers compensation; and fringe benefits tax.


Survey results were released on 11 June 2004 in Labour Costs, Australia (cat. no. 6348.0.55.001), an electronic publication available free of charge on the ABS web site. An article on the survey results is included in the recent release section of this publication.



SUPPLEMENTARY SURVEYS ON LABOUR TOPICS

The Monthly Population Survey comprises the Labour Force Survey and a number of supplementary surveys, which provide detailed information on a range of topics. Results from surveys on labour-related topics recently released include Working Arrangements, Australia (cat. no. 6342.0), and Characteristics of Small Business, Australia (cat. no. 8127.0). These releases are outlined in the recent release section of this publication.

Recent and upcoming statistical releases

Release date/title of publication
Reference period
Catalogue number

June 2004
Industrial Disputes, Australia (Electronic Publication)
March quarter 2004
6321.0.55.001
Labour Costs, Australia
2002-03
6348.0.55.001
Labour Force, Australia
May 2004
6202.0
Labour Force, Australia - Detailed Delivery
May 2004
6291.0.55.001
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey
2002
4714.0
Wage and Salary Earners, Public Sector, Australia
March quarter 2004
6248.0.55.001
Working Arrangements, Australia
November 2003
6342.0
July 2004
Australian Labour Market Statistics
July 2004
6105.0
Family Characteristics
June 2003
4442.0
Job Vacancies, Australia
May 2004
6354.0
Labour Force, Australia
June 2004
6202.0
Labour Force, Australia - Detailed Delivery
June 2004
6291.0.55.001
Occasional Paper: Perspectives on Women's Employment in Regional Australia, 2001 Census
2001
1380.0.55.001
August 2004
Average Weekly Earnings, Australia
May 2003
6302.0
Labour Force, Australia
July 2004
6202.0
Labour Force, Australia - Detailed Delivery
July 2004
6291.0.55.001
Labour Mobility
February 2004
6209.0
Wage Cost Index, Australia
June quarter 2004
6345.0
September 2004
Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia
2002-03
6523.0
Industrial Disputes, Australia
June quarter 2004
6321.0.55.001
Information Paper: Persons in Own Business, Experimental Estimates for Small Areas
1996-97 to 2000-01
6225.0
Job Vacancies, Australia
August 2004
6354.0
Labour Force, Australia
August 2004
6202.0
Labour Force, Australia - Detailed Delivery
August 2004
6291.0.55.001
Wage and Salary Earners, Public Sector, Australia
June quarter 2004
6248.0.55.001
October 2004
Australian Labour Market Statistics
October 2004
6105.0
Labour Force, Australia
September 2004
6202.0
Labour Force, Australia - Detailed Delivery
September 2004
6291.0.55.001