LABOUR FORCE

Job vacancies
Employed persons
Unemployment
Participation Rate
Employed persons by industry


JOB VACANCIES

In original terms, Queensland's total number of job vacancies increased to 41,600 in May 2008 from 38,600 in February 2008. The May 2008 vacancies were 17% higher than in May 2007. Public sector vacancies accounted for around one in ten (7.7%) of total job vacancies in May 2008.

Further information on this topic can be accessed at Job Vacancies, Australia (cat. no. 6354.0). This is the final issue for 2008. The Survey of Job Vacancies will not be conducted during 2008-09. The survey may be reinstated in 2009-10.

EMPLOYED PERSONS

In December 2008, total employment in Queensland in trend terms rose to 2,215,300 persons. Full-time employed persons (1,603,100) accounted for 72% of total employed persons. Males accounted for 65% of full-time employed persons and 54% of total employed persons.

UNEMPLOYMENT

The trend estimate of the number of unemployed persons in Queensland for December 2008 was 88,000 persons. This equates to an unemployment rate of 3.8%. Since July 2004, in trend estimate terms, the Queensland unemployment rate has been lower than the national unemployment rate.

In Queensland in December 2008 the male unemployment rate was 3.9%. The corresponding female unemployment rate was 3.7%. Male unemployment rates have exceeded female unemployment rates since November 2008. This is a recent change from the pattern of female unemployment rates exceeding their male counterparts from May 2002 to October 2008.
PARTICIPATION RATE

The trend estimate of the participation rate for Queensland in December 2008 was 67.4%. This rate is 2.3 percentage points higher than December 1998. Queensland has consistently recorded higher participation rates than the national average.

For Queensland, the trend participation rate for females has been over 60% since July 2006, and was 61.0% in December 2008. This is a 5.3 percentage points increase on the female participation rate recorded in December 1998. The male participation rate in December 2008 was 73.8%, a decrease of 0.7 percentage points on the rate recorded for December 1998.

Further information on these topics can be accessed at Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) and Labour Force, Australia, Spreadsheets (cat. no. 6202.0.55.001) or ring the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070. These publications are released monthly.

EMPLOYED PERSONS BY INDUSTRY

There were 2,216,500 employed persons in Queensland in November 2008. The five major industries with the most number of employed persons were Retail trade (336,600), Property and business services (260,200), Construction (246,000), Health and community services (214,700) and Manufacturing (201,000). Those industries employing the least number of persons included Electricity, gas and water (20,600), Communication services (38,700) and Mining (45,700).

The five major industries with the most number of employed persons accounted for over half (57%) of Queensland's employed.

In the year November 2007 to November 2008, the greatest increase of employed persons occurred in Electricity, Gas and Water Supply (27%). In the same period, Cultural and recreational services had the greatest decrease in employed persons with a reduction of 19%.

Note: Employed persons by industry has been reported in original terms and cannot be directly compared to the trend estimates reported for Labour Force.For more detailed information on this topic, please refer to Labour Force , Australia, Detailed, Quarterly (cat. no. 6291.0.55.003) or ring the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070. This publication is released quarterly.