LABOUR FORCE

JOB VACANCIES
In original terms, South Australia's total number of job vacancies decreased to about 9,400 in November 2007 from 10,000 in August 2007. The November 2007 vacancies were the same as in November 2006. Australia-wide, job vacancies increased from 173,100 in August 2007 to 182,800 in November 2007. Australian job vacancies in November 2007 were 13% higher than in November 2006.



EMPLOYED PERSONS
In trend terms, the total number of persons employed in South Australia in February 2008 was 775,800. This was a 2.9% increase on the number of persons employed in February 2007 (754,200). The total number of persons employed in Australia in February 2008 was 10,649,700, a 2.7% increase on the number employed in February 2007 (10,371,300).

The number of males employed full-time in South Australia in February 2008 was 351,000 (in trend terms), up 2.6% from February 2007. The number of females employed full-time in South Australia in February 2008 was 185,400 (in trend terms), up 6.5% from February 2007.



UNEMPLOYMENT
The trend estimate unemployment rate for South Australia decreased to 4.6% in February 2008, from 4.7% in January 2008. This was the third consecutive month where the unemployment rate for South Australia had decreased. Australia's unemployment rate decreased to 4.1% in February 2008, from 4.2% in January 2008.


For South Australia, the trend unemployment rate for males decreased to 4.5% in February 2008, down from 4.6% in January 2008. The trend unemployment rate for females similarly decreased over this period, from 4.8% in January 2008 to 4.7% in February 2008.




PARTICIPATION RATE
The trend estimate of the participation rate for South Australia in February 2008 was 62.9%, the same as in January 2008. In the ten year period from February 1998, the lowest participation rate estimate was 59.7% in May and June of 1998. Australia's trend participation rate also remained steady from January 2008 to February 2008 at 65.2%. The lowest participation rate reported for Australia for the ten year period from February 1998 was 62.8% in April and May of 1999.


For South Australia, the trend participation rate for females was 56.1% in February 2008, down from 56.2% in January 2008. Nationally, the female participation rate was steady at 58.1% in February 2008. The participation rate for South Australian males increased to 69.9% in February 2008, up from 69.8% in January 2008. The Australian participation rate for males has been consistently higher than that for South Australia, and was steady at 72.5% in February 2008.