6202.0 - Labour Force, Australia, Jan 2005  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 10/02/2005   
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JANUARY KEY FIGURES

Dec 2004
Jan 2005
Dec 04 to Jan 05
Jan 04 to Jan 05
Trend
Employed persons ('000)
9,824.8
9,851.6
26.8
2.9
%
Unemployed persons ('000)
533.2
526.4
-6.8
-9.7
%
Unemployment rate (%)
5.1
5.1
-0.1
pts
-0.7
pts
Participation rate (%)
63.8
63.9
0.1
pts
0.4
pts
Seasonally Adjusted
Employed persons ('000)
9,823.8
9,868.2
44.5
3.2
%
Unemployed persons ('000)
527.4
533.3
5.9
-8.3
%
Unemployment rate (%)
5.1
5.1
0.0
pts
-0.6
pts
Participation rate (%)
63.8
64.1
0.3
pts
0.7
pts

Employed Persons
Graph: Employed Persons

Unemployment rate
Graph: Unemployment rate



JANUARY KEY POINTS


TREND ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

  • EMPLOYMENT increased to 9,851,600
  • UNEMPLOYMENT decreased to 526,400
  • UNEMPLOYMENT RATE decreased slightly, but the rounded estimate remained at 5.1%
  • PARTICIPATION RATE increased to 63.9%


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

EMPLOYMENT
  • increased by 44,500 to 9,868,200. Full-time employment increased by 24,400 to 7,028,200 while part-time employment increased by 20,100 to 2,840,000.

UNEMPLOYMENT
  • increased by 5,900 to 533,300. The number of persons looking for full-time work increased by 8,800 to 387,300 while the number of persons looking for part-time work decreased by 2,900 to 146,000.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
  • remained at 5.1%. The male unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 5.0% while the female unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 5.3%.

PARTICIPATION RATE
  • increased by 0.3 percentage points to 64.1%.


NOTES

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 ERRORS

The estimates in this publication are based on a sample survey. Because the entire population is not enumerated, the published estimates and the movements derived from them are subject to sampling variability. Standard errors give a measure of this variability and appear on pages 27 and 28.


The 95% confidence intervals below provide another way of looking at the variability inherent in estimates from sample surveys. The interval bounded by the two limits is the 95% confidence interval. A 95% confidence interval has a 95% chance of including the true value of the estimate.

Movements in seasonally adjusted series between December 2004 and January 2005
Monthly change
95% Confidence interval
Total Employment
44,500
7,100
to
81,900
Total Unemployment
5,900
-7,700
to
19,500
Unemployment rate
0.0 pts
-0.2 pts
to
0.2 pts
Participation rate
0.3 pts
0.1 pts
to
0.5 pts


INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Michael Johnson on Canberra (02) 6252 6525.



PRINCIPAL LABOUR FORCE SERIES TREND ESTIMATES


EMPLOYED PERSONS

The trend estimate of employed persons generally rose from 8,115,400 in January 1995 to 9,055,800 in September 2000. The trend then fell slightly to 9,032,200 in January 2001, before rising to 9,461,500 in March 2003. The trend then fell for three months before rising to stand at 9,851,600 in January 2005.

Graph: Employed Persons (Trend)



UNEMPLOYED PERSONS

The trend estimate of unemployed persons rose from 728,100 in July 1995 to 771,800 in February 1997. The trend then fell to 583,300 in September 2000, before rising to 685,100 in October 2001. The trend has since generally fallen to stand at 526,400 in January 2005.

Graph: Unemployed Persons (Trend)



UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

The trend unemployment rate rose slowly from 8.1% in July 1995 to 8.4% in February 1997. After falling to 6.1% in September 2000, the trend then rose to 7.0% in October 2001. The trend has since generally fallen to stand at 5.1% in January 2005.

Graph: Unemployment Rate (Trend)



EMPLOYED PERSONS TREND ESTIMATES


MALES EMPLOYED FULL TIME


TOTAL

After rising to 4,216,000 in April 1996, the trend estimate for males employed full time remained stable for a year before increasing to 4,401,100 in August 2000. The trend then fell to 4,336,900 in June 2001, before generally rising to stand at 4,605,200 in January 2005.

Graph: Males employed full time (trend)



MALES AGED 15-19 YEARS

After falling from a high of 159,900 in March 1995 to 141,100 in June 1997, the trend estimate of males aged 15 to 19 years employed full time fluctuated for the next three years before falling to 135,900 in February 2001. The trend then generally rose to 155,500 in January 2004, before falling to 147,200 in August 2004. Since then the trend has risen to stand at 159,200 in January 2005.

Graph: Males aged 15-19 years employed full time (trend)



MALES AGED 20 YEARS AND OVER

The trend estimate of males aged 20 years and over employed full time rose gradually from 3,974,300 in January 1995 to a high of 4,256,400 in August 2000. After a slight fall to 4,193,000 in July 2001, the trend has generally risen to stand at 4,446,000 in January 2005.

Graph: Males aged 20 years and over employed full time (trend)



FEMALES EMPLOYED FULL TIME


TOTAL

The trend estimate of females employed full time generally rose from 1,982,600 in January 1995 to 2,266,500 in March 2001. The trend then fell to 2,216,000 in January 2002 before gradually rising to stand at 2,417,200 in January 2005.

Graph: Females employed full time (trend)



FEMALES AGED 15-19 YEARS

The trend estimate of females aged 15 to 19 years employed full time generally fell from 90,800 in January 1995 to a low of 74,000 in August 1998. The trend then rose to 89,100 in February 2001, before falling to 76,500 in April 2002. Although fluctuating over the last two years, the trend has since increased to stand at 89,400 in January 2005.

Graph: Females aged 15-19 years employed full time (trend)



FEMALES AGED 20 YEARS AND OVER

After remaining steady for the preceeding two years, the trend estimate of females aged 20 years and over employed full time rose from 1,985,900 in June 1997 to 2,177,700 in March 2001. After falling slightly to 2,135,800 in December 2001, the trend has since risen to stand at 2,327,800 in January 2005.

Graph: Females aged 20 years and over (trend)