6202.0 - Labour Force, Australia, Feb 2012 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 08/03/2012   
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FEBRUARY KEY FIGURES

Jan 2012
Feb 2012
Jan 12 to Feb 12
Feb 11 to Feb 12
Trend
Employed persons ('000)
11 443.6
11 444.6
1.1
0.1
%
Unemployed persons ('000)
626.8
625.0
-1.7
4.5
%
Unemployment rate (%)
5.2
5.2
0.0
pts
0.2
pts
Participation rate (%)
65.3
65.2
-0.1
pts
-0.6
pts
Seasonally Adjusted
Employed persons ('000)
11 459.5
11 444.0
-15.4
0.2
%
Unemployed persons ('000)
615.8
632.2
16.4
4.8
%
Unemployment rate (%)
5.1
5.2
0.1
pts
0.2
pts
Participation rate (%)
65.3
65.2
-0.1
pts
-0.5
pts

Employed Persons
Graph: Employed Persons

Unemployment Rate
Graph: Unemployment Rate




FEBRUARY KEY POINTS


TREND ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)
  • Employment increased to 11,444,600.
  • Unemployment decreased to 625,000.
  • Unemployment rate steady at 5.2%.
  • Participation rate decreased to 65.2%.
  • Aggregate monthly hours worked decreased to 1,608.8 million hours.


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)
  • Employment decreased 15,400 (0.1%) to 11,444,000. Full-time employment was steady at 8,063,600 and part-time employment decreased 15,400 persons to 3,380,400.
  • Unemployment increased 16,400 (2.7%) to 632,200. The number of persons looking for part-time work increased 5,600 to 181,200 and the number of persons looking for full-time work increased 10,800 to 451,000.
  • The unemployment rate increased 0.1 pts to 5.2%. The male unemployment rate increased 0.2 pts to 5.1% and the female unemployment rate increased 0.1 pts to 5.4%.
  • The participation rate decreased 0.1 pts to 65.2%.
  • Aggregate monthly hours worked increased 21.6 million hours to 1,616.6 million hours.


LABOUR UNDERUTILISATION (QUARTERLY CHANGE)
  • Trend estimates: The labour force underutilisation rate increased to 12.6%.
  • Seasonally adjusted estimates: The labour force underutilisation rate decreased to 12.5%. The male labour force underutilisation rate increased 0.2 pts to 10.8%. The female labour force underutilisation rate decreased 0.3 pts to 14.5%.


NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE Release Date
March 2012 12 April 2012
April 2012 10 May 2012
May 2012 7 June 2012
June 2012 12 July 2012
July 2012 9 August 2012
August 2012 6 September 2012



ROUNDING

Estimates of monthly change shown on the front cover have been calculated using unrounded estimates, and may be different from, but are more accurate than, movements obtained from the rounded estimates. The graphs on the front cover also depict unrounded estimates.


SAMPLING ERROR

The estimates in this publication are based on a sample survey. Published estimates and the movements derived from them are subject to sampling variability. Standard errors give a measure of sampling variability (see pages 34 and 35). The interval bounded by two standard errors is the 95% confidence interval, which provides a way of looking at the variability inherent in estimates. There is a 95% chance that the true value of the estimate lies within that interval.

MOVEMENTS IN SEASONALLY ADJUSTED SERIES BETWEEN JANUARY 2012 AND FEBRUARY 2012
Monthly change
95% Confidence interval
Total Employment
-15 400
-70 000
to
39 200
Total Unemployment
16 400
-17 400
to
50 200
Unemployment rate
0.1 pts
-0.1 pts
to
0.3 pts
Participation rate
-0.1 pts
-0.5 pts
to
0.3 pts



INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070, email client.services@abs.gov.au or Labour Force on Canberra (02) 6252 6525, email labourforce@abs.gov.au.