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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 <https://www.abs.gov.au> (Themes - People - Labour).

LABOUR FORCE SURVEY STANDARD ERRORS

The ABS has recently introduced updated standard error models. These models are now used to calculate standard errors for estimates from the Labour Force Survey, and affect the standard error of estimates from November 2002 onwards. For information on sampling error and the standard error models designed by the ABS to simplify the calculation of standard errors for Labour Force Survey estimates, see the technical report in this issue: 'Standard Error Models for the Labour Force Survey'.

CHANGES TO THE 2006 SURVEY OF EMPLOYEE EARNINGS AND HOURS

The two-yearly Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (EEH) will next be conducted in May 2006. EEH provides statistics on earnings and hours paid for, and on the coverage and pay outcomes of employees on awards, registered agreements and informal arrangements.

The federal government is planning to introduce significant changes to the workplace relations system in the near future, including new arrangements for setting minimum wages and conditions. The proposed changes will have a significant impact on the EEH survey questions relating to pay setting arrangements.

The timing of the implementation of the changes to the workplace relations system is likely to coincide with the conduct of the 2006 EEH survey. Due to the uncertainty surrounding pay setting arrangements during the implementation phase, the ABS is proposing to not collect data on pay setting arrangements in the 2006 EEH survey. The 2006 survey will continue to collect information on the composition and distribution of employee earnings and hours. The survey questions relating to pay setting arrangements will be redeveloped following the implementation of the new workplace relations system and the questions will be reintroduced into the subsequent EEH survey, which is scheduled for May 2008.

FREE PUBLICATIONS ON THE WEB

ABS publications are now available free of charge on the ABS web site. This includes Adobe Acrobat and HTML publications such as Australian Labour Market Statistics, and the spreadsheets Table 1 Measures of underutilisation and Table 2 Types of Employment 1992-2004.

SUPPLEMENTARY SURVEYS ON LABOUR TOPICS

The Monthly Population Survey comprises the Labour Force Survey and a range of supplementary surveys, which provide detailed information on a range of topics. Labour Force Experience, Australia (cat. no. 6206.0) was released on 28 July 2005.

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 <https://www.abs.gov.au>, provide your email address, and select your topics of interest.

Recent and upcoming statistical releases
Release date/title of publication		Reference period	Catalogue number
September 2005
	Industrial Disputes, Australia	June quarter 2005	6321.0.55.001
	Job Vacancies, Australia	August 2005	6354.0
	Labour Force, Australia	August 2005	6202.0
	Labour Force, Australia - Detailed Delivery	August 2005	6291.0.55.001
	Labour Force Survey Standard Errors	2005	6298.0
	Labour Force Survey Standard Errors, Spreadsheets	2005	6298.0.55.001
	Wage and Salary Earners, Public Sector, Australia	June quarter 2005	6248.0.55.001
	Information Paper: ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations	2005	1221.0
	Information Paper: Census of Population and Housing - Proposed Products and Services	2006	2011.0
October 2005
	Australian Labour Market Statistics	October 2005	6105.0
	Labour Force, Australia	September 2005	6202.0
	Labour Force, Australia - Detailed Delivery	September 2005	6291.0.55.001
	Information Paper: Changes to ABS Measures of Employee Remuneration	2005	6313.0
November 2005
	2006 Census of Population and Housing: Nature and Content	2006	2008.0
	Average Weekly Earnings, Australia	August 2005	6302.0
	Household Expenditure Survey and Survey of Income and Housing, User Guide	2005	6503.0
	Household Expenditure Survey and Survey of Income and Housing - Confidentialised Unit Record Files	2003-04	6540.0
	Household Expenditure Survey and Survey of Income and Housing - Confidentialised Unit Record Files, Technical Paper	2003-04	6540.0.00.001
	Labour Force, Australia	October 2005	6202.0
	Labour Force, Australia - Detailed Delivery	October 2005	6291.0.55.001
	Labour Price Index, Australia	September quarter 2005	6345.0
	Information Paper: ANZSIC 2006 Implementation	2006	1295.0
December 2005
	Barriers and Incentives to Labour Force Participation, Australia	August 2004 to June 2005	6239.0
	Education and Work, Australia	May 2005	6227.0
	Industrial Disputes, Australia	September quarter 2005	6321.0.55.001
	Labour Force, Australia	November 2005	6202.0
	Labour Force, Australia - Detailed Delivery	November 2005	6291.0.55.001
	Retirement and Retirement Intentions, Australia	August 2004 to June 2005	6238.0
	Wage and Salary Earners, Public Sector, Australia	September quarter 2005	6248.0.55.001
January 2006
	Australian Labour Market Statistics	January 2006	6105.0
	Job Search Experience, Australia	July 2005	6222.0
	Job Vacancies, Australia	November 2005	6354.0
	Labour Force, Australia	December 2005	6202.0
	Labour Force, Australia - Detailed Delivery	December 2005	6291.0.55.001
	Year Book Australia	2006	1301.0

DATA CONTAINED IN THIS ISSUE

The statistics shown are the latest available at 15 September 2005. 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 at <https://www.abs.gov.au> [AusStats - Publications and Data], then [Data Cubes] or [Time Series Spreadsheets].

INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Assistant Director, Labour Market Statistics Section, on Canberra 02 6252 7636.

LABOUR MARKET SUMMARY


KEY MEASURES

						% change from
Measure			Series type	Period	Current figure	Previous quarter(a)	Previous year(b)
Employed
	Persons	'000	Trend	Aug 2005	10 056.4	0.7	3.6
	Full-time	'000	Trend	Aug 2005	7 187.8	0.6	3.4
	Part-time	'000	Trend	Aug 2005	2 868.6	0.7	4.3
	Part-time employment as a proportion of total employment	%	Trend	Aug 2005	28.5	(c)0.0	(c)0.2
Unemployed
	Persons	'000	Trend	Aug 2005	527.5	-1.3	-7.1
	Looking for full-time work	'000	Trend	Aug 2005	369.4	-2.1	-8.9
	Looking for part-time work	'000	Trend	Aug 2005	158.2	0.4	-2.7
Unemployment rate
	Persons	%	Trend	Aug 2005	5.0	(c)-0.1	(c)-0.5
Long-term unemployment
	Persons	'000	Trend	Aug 2005	89.5	-2.7	-24.1
	As a proportion of total unemployment	%	Trend	Aug 2005	17.0	(c)-0.2	(c)-3.8
Annual labour underutilisation rates(d)
	Long-term unemployment rate	%	Original	Sep 2004	1.2	na	(c)-0.1
	Unemployment rate	%	Original	Sep 2004	5.5	na	(c)-0.4
	Underemployment rate	%	Original	Sep 2004	5.6	na	(c)0.0
	Labour force underutilisation rate	%	Original	Sep 2004	11.1	na	(c)-0.4
	Extended labour force underutilisation rate	%	Original	Sep 2004	12.2	na	(c)-0.3
Children living without an employed parent(e)		%	Original	Jun 2005	14.9	na	(c)-2.3
Labour force participation rate
	Persons aged 15-64 years	%	Original	Aug 2005	75.1	(c)-0.5	(c)1.5
	Total	%	Trend	Aug 2005	64.7	(c)0.2	(c)1.2
Actual hours worked
	Aggregate weekly hours	mill. hours	Original	Aug 2005	346.5	0.3	4.2
	Average weekly hours - persons	hours	Original	Aug 2005	34.7	0.3	0.0
	Average weekly hours - full-time	hours	Original	Aug 2005	42.0	0.0	0.2
	Average weekly hours - part-time	hours	Original	Aug 2005	16.9	1.8	1.1
Part-time workers
	Proportion who preferred to work more hours	%	Original	Aug 2005	24.0	(c)-1.1	(c)-2.1
Wage price index
	Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses	index no.	Trend	Jun qtr 2005	105.4	1.1	4.0
Average weekly earnings
	Full-time adult ordinary time earnings	$	Trend	May 2005	1 008.10	1.6	5.8
	All employees total earnings	$	Trend	May 2005	793.60	1.5	5.5
Compensation of employees
	Household income account	$m	Trend	Jun qtr 2005	104 014	1.9	7.3
	Average earnings (National Accounts basis nominal) per week	$	Trend	Jun qtr 2005	915	0.9	3.5
Industrial disputes
	Working days lost	'000	Original	Jun qtr 2005	51.7	14.5	-66.5
	Working days lost per 1,000 employees	number	Original	Jun qtr 2005	5.9	13.1	-67.6
Job vacancies
	Australia	'000	Trend	May 2005	151.0	4.6	26.3
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


Males and females

Proportion of total employment, Males


Proportion of total employment, Females

Males and females

Proportion of total unemployment

Labour underutilisation rates - 1994-2004

Persons


Males


Females

Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses, Quarterly change

Full-time adult ordinary time earnings, Quarterly change


All employees total earnings, Level

Working days lost, Quarter ending

Job vacancies, By sector