1376.0 - Local Government and ABS, Mar 2009  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 17/03/2009   
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STATISTICIAN'S REPORT ON THE CENSUS


Released on 29 January 2009, A Picture of the Nation: the Statistician's Report on the 2006 Census (cat. no. 2070.0) presents statistical analysis and commentary on the results of the 2006 Census. It also incorporates information from previous Censuses, presenting stories about contemporary society and trends that affect the lives of Australian people. The overviews and articles are organised into eight chapters, representing the following broad areas of interest: population; cultural diversity; living arrangements; community; education; work; economic resources; and housing.

The report demonstrates the many strengths of Census data, including its ability to provide information on small population groups and small geographic areas. For example, the feature article 'Families with young children: a Sydney case study' (Chapter 3 - Living Arrangements) uses the Local Government Areas of Baulkham Hills, Blacktown and Mosman as examples to explore various population characteristics associated with families living with young children.

An example of the information in the report is shown in the following map from Chapter 3:

Diagram: An example of information presented in the report

The report also provides an overview of Australia's population (Chapter 1), including information on population growth in Australian capital cities and large urban centres, while Chapter 6 (Work) contains unemployment and labour force participation rates in selected Statistical Subdivisions. Chapter 7 (Economic Resources) contains a feature article 'Workers' incomes in selected regions' using the Statistical Subdivisions of North Wimmera (Vic), Greater Dandenong (Vic), Lower Northern Sydney (NSW) and the Statistical Division of Pilbara (WA) to examine some specific characteristics of the workforce in those regions.