6202.0 - Labour Force, Australia, May 2005

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 09/06/2005

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Main Features
About this Release

MAY KEY FIGURES

		Apr 2005	May 2005	Apr 05 to May 05		May 04 to May 05

Trend
	Employed persons ('000)	9,961.8	9,983.3	21.5		3.5	%
	Unemployed persons ('000)	539.1	541.0	2.0		-6.0	%
	Unemployment rate (%)	5.1	5.1	0.0	pts	-0.5	pts
	Participation rate (%)	64.5	64.6	0.1	pts	1.0	pts
Seasonally Adjusted
	Employed persons ('000)	9,967.8	9,981.9	14.0		3.4	%
	Unemployed persons ('000)	540.4	541.6	1.2		-3.8	%
	Unemployment rate (%)	5.1	5.1	0.0	pts	-0.4	pts
	Participation rate (%)	64.5	64.6	0.0	pts	1.0	pts

Employed Persons
Graph: Employed Persons

Unemployment rate
Graph: Unemployment rate

MAY KEY POINTS

TREND ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

EMPLOYMENT increased to 9,983,300
UNEMPLOYMENT increased to 541,000
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE remained at 5.1%
PARTICIPATION RATE increased to 64.6%

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

EMPLOYMENT

increased by 14,000 to 9,981,900. Full-time employment decreased slightly to 7,128,000 while part-time employment increased by 14,600 to 2,853,900.

UNEMPLOYMENT

increased by 1,200 to 541,600. The number of persons looking for full-time work decreased by 6,000 to 380,400 while the number of persons looking for part-time work increased by 7,200 to 161,200.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

remained at 5.1%. The male unemployment rate remained at 4.9% while the female unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 5.4%.

PARTICIPATION RATE

increased slightly to 64.6%.

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 April and May 2005

	Monthly change	95% Confidence interval


Total Employment	14,000	-23,400	to	51,400
Total Unemployment	1,200	-12,200	to	14,600
Unemployment rate	0.0 pts	-0.2 pts	to	0.2 pts
Participation rate	0.0 pts	-0.2 pts	to	0.2 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 8,251,600 in May 1995 to 9,055,600 in September 2000. The trend then fell slightly to 9,035,300 in January 2001, before rising to 9,458,900 in March 2003. The trend then fell for three months before rising to stand at 9,983,300 in May 2005.

UNEMPLOYED PERSONS

The trend estimate of unemployed persons generally rose from May 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 then generally fell to January 2005, and has since increased slightly to stand at 541,000 in May 2005.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

The trend unemployment rate was relatively steady from May 1995 to February 1997. After falling to 6.1% in September 2000, the trend rose to 7.0% in October 2001. The trend has since generally fallen to stand at 5.1% in May 2005.

EMPLOYED PERSONS TREND ESTIMATES

EMPLOYED MALES

TOTAL

The trend estimate of employed males rose from 4,691,700 in May 1995 to 5,054,400 in September 2000. The trend then fell to 5,031,700 in March 2001, before rising to stand at 5,513,800 in May 2005.

MALES EMPLOYED FULL TIME

The trend estimate for males employed full time rose from 4,178,200 in May 1995 to 4,216,100 in April 1996. After remaining stable for a year, the trend then rose to 4,400,200 in August 2000. The trend then fell to 4,335,100 in June 2001, before generally rising to stand at 4,699,800 in May 2005.

MALES EMPLOYED PART TIME

The trend estimate of males employed part time has risen 58% over the last 10 years, rising from 513,600 in May 1995 to 814,000 in May 2005.

EMPLOYED FEMALES

TOTAL

The trend estimate of employed females rose from 3,559,800 in May 1995 to 4,243,800 in March 2003, with strong growth in late 2002. The trend estimate then fell to 4,225,100 in July 2003, before rising to stand at 4,469,600 in May 2005.

FEMALES EMPLOYED FULL TIME

The trend estimate of females employed full time generally rose from 2,039,500 in May 1995 to 2,267,000 in March 2001. The trend then decreased to 2,215,700 in January 2002, before generally rising to stand at 2,430,400 in May 2005.

FEMALES EMPLOYED PART TIME

The trend estimate of females employed part time has risen steadily over the last 10 years, except for a slight downturn between March 2003 and December 2003. The May 2005 trend estimate of 2,039,100 is 34% higher than the May 1995 estimate of 1,520,300.