6275.0 - Locations of Work, Australia, Jun 2000  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 28/05/2001   
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MEDIA RELEASE

May 28, 2001
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
56/2001
Nearly 1 Million Australians Work at Home

Figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that in June 2000 some 980,300 persons were classified as persons employed at home.
'Persons employed at home' are people who work all or most of their hours at home or have an arrangement with their employer to work at home. Almost half (49 percent) of all persons employed at home were female. Some 76 percent of persons employed at home were 35 years of age and over, and 38 percent were parents of children aged less than 15 years.

The survey found that the main reason for working at home was to operate their own or a family business. Some 38 percent of persons employed at home were self-employed. For males employed at home the most common occupation groups were managers and administrators (35 percent) and professionals (28 percent), while females were most likely to be employed at home as professionals (23 percent), advanced clerical and service workers (21 percent) or intermediate clerical, sales and service workers (19 percent).

Other characteristics of persons employed at home include:
  • 23 percent worked in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry;
  • 15 percent worked in the property and business services industry;
  • 51 percent had worked in that job at home for 5 years or more; and
  • 64 percent used information technology in that job at home.

The survey also collected information about all the places or types of locations where people work.

Of the 8,589,400 persons at work in June 2000, most had worked at their employer or client's workplace (80 percent). Nearly one third (31 percent) travelled for work and 20 percent worked some hours at home, in their main job. Some 36 percent of persons worked in more than one location type in their main job.

Further details can be found in Locations of Work, Australia, June 2000 (cat. no. 6275.0) available from ABS bookshops. The main features of the publication are available on this site. If you wish to purchase a copy of this publication, contact the ABS Bookshop in your capital city.