WHAT'S NEW IN THE LABOUR FORCE
CHANGE TO THE TIMING OF THE MAJOR REBENCHMARKING OF LABOUR FORCE ESTIMATES
The ABS has reviewed the timing of when the major rebenchmarking of Labour Force estimates will occur, following the 5-yearly Census rebasing process and revisions to population estimates. Traditionally, this process has occurred more than two years after the Census, to coincide with the availability of final rebased population estimates.
For this cycle, the ABS has decided, after consultation with a range of key users of Labour Force statistics, to undertake an initial major rebenchmarking to preliminary rebased population estimates, to coincide with the release of Labour Force, Australia - Rebenchmarked Estimates, October 2017 (cat. no. 6202.0.55.003) on 7 December. This will be followed by a second major rebenchmarking a year later, in December 2018.
This approach is consistent with the guiding principle that has underpinned quarterly rebenchmarking since it was introduced in August 2015 - that is, to ensure the best available population information is used in Labour Force benchmarks. It also reflects the increased timeliness in which major rebenchmarking can be undertaken, following the introduction of the quarterly methodology, and increased appetite of users of Labour Force statistics for regular revisions.
The ABS believes that most of the differences between 2011-based and 2016-based benchmarks should be observed in the initial rebenchmarking release, in December 2017. Revisions that will occur in December 2018, when final rebased population estimates are used in a second major rebenchmarking process, should be generally minor.
In this issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0), the ABS has continued to use 2011-based Labour Force Survey benchmarks. 2011-based benchmarks will also be used in the October issue, which will be released on 16 November 2017, ahead of the rebenchmarking process in December 2017.
GM1 DATA CUBE
Commencing this month, Labour Force, Australia (cat no 6202.0), has published the GM1 data cube in pivot table format in addition to the Summary Record Database (SRD) format which is being phased out.
The ABS will continue to release the GM1 data cube in both formats for twelve months, to allow users to transition to using pivot tables, after which it will cease publishing Labour Force data cubes in SRD format.
This pivot table will increase the accessibility of Labour Force data and provide a long term replacement for the unsupported SRD format. The pivot table reflects the design and utility of the existing SRD format as closely as possible. In addition, the inclusion of a Comma Separated Values (CSV) source worksheet in the pivot table should facilitate the data's use in a wide range of software.
The phasing out of the GM1 SRD represents the final stage of the Labour Force statistics transition from the SRD format, which has already been completed for all other products.
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