EXPLANATORY NOTES
INTRODUCTION
1 The statistics in this publication were compiled from data collected in the Job Search Experience Survey, conducted throughout Australia in July 2007 as a supplement to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS). Respondents to the LFS who fell within the scope of the supplementary survey were asked further questions.
2 The publication Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) contains information about survey design, sample redesign, scope, coverage and population benchmarks relevant to the monthly LFS, which also apply to supplementary surveys. It also contains definitions of demographic and labour force characteristics, and information about telephone interviewing which are relevant to both the monthly LFS and supplementary surveys.
CONCEPTS, SOURCES AND METHODS
3 The conceptual framework used in Australia's LFS aligns closely with the standards and guidelines set out in Resolutions of the International Conference of Labour Statisticians. Descriptions of the underlying concepts and structure of Australia's labour force statistics, and the sources and methods used in compiling these estimates, are presented in Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 6102.0.55.001) which is available on the ABS web site <www.abs.gov.au> (Methods, Classifications, Concepts & Standards).
SCOPE
4 The scope of the LFS is restricted to people aged 15 years and over and excludes the following people:
- members of the permanent defence forces
- certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments, customarily excluded from the census and estimated populations
- overseas residents in Australia
- members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants).
5 Students at boarding schools, patients in hospitals, residents of homes (e.g. retirement homes, homes for people with disabilities), and inmates of prisons are excluded from all supplementary surveys.
6 This supplementary survey was conducted in both urban and rural areas in all states and territories, but excluded approximately 120,000 people living in very remote parts of Australia who would otherwise have been within the scope of the survey. The exclusion of these people will have only a minor impact on any aggregate estimates produced for individual states and territories, except the Northern Territory where such people account for around 23% of the population.
7 The survey only relates to people who were unemployed in July 2007, and people employed in July 2007 who started their current job in the previous 12 months.
COVERAGE
8 The estimates in this publication relate to people covered by the survey in July 2007. In the LFS, coverage rules are applied which aim to ensure that each person is associated with only one dwelling, and hence has only one chance of selection in the survey. See Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) for more details.
SAMPLE SIZE
9 Supplementary surveys are not always conducted on the full LFS sample. Since August 1994 the sample for supplementary surveys has been restricted to no more than seven-eighths of the LFS sample.
10 The initial sample for the July 2007 LFS consisted of 41,772 private dwelling households and special dwelling units. Of the 33,778 private dwelling households and special dwelling units that remained in the survey after sample loss (e.g. households selected in the survey which had no residents in scope for the LFS, vacant or derelict dwellings and dwellings under construction), approximately 32,243 or 95.5% were fully responding to the Job Search Experience Survey. The number of completed interviews obtained from these private dwellings and special dwelling units (after taking into account scope, coverage and sub-sampling exclusions) was 6,683.
RELIABILITY OF THE ESTIMATES
11 Estimates in this publication are subject to sampling and non-sampling errors:
- Sampling error is the difference between the published estimate and the value that would have been produced if all dwellings had been included in the survey. For more information see the Technical Note.
- Non-sampling errors are inaccuracies that occur because of imperfections in reporting by respondents and interviewers, and errors made in coding and processing data. These inaccuracies may occur in any enumeration, whether it be a full count or a sample. Every effort is made to reduce the non-sampling error to a minimum by careful design of questionnaires, intensive training and supervision of interviewers and effective processing procedures.
SEASONAL FACTORS
12 The estimates are based on information collected in the survey month and, due to seasonal factors, may not be representative of other months of the year.
CLASSIFICATIONS USED
13 Country of birth data are classified according to the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC), 1998 (cat. no. 1269.0).
14 From 2006, occupation data are classified according to ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, First Edition, 2006 (cat. no. 1220.0). This new classification replaces ASCO-Australian Standard Classification of Occupations, Second Edition, 1997 (cat. no. 1220.0). Data classified according to ASCO can be obtained on request.
15 Also from 2006, industry data are classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (cat. no. 1292.0). This new classification replaces the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 1993 (cat. no. 1292.0). Data classified according to ANZSIC 1993 can be obtained on request.
16 Educational attainment data are classified according to the Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) (cat. no. 1272.0). See Appendix 1 for further information.
COMPARABILITY OF TIME SERIES
17 Revisions are made to population benchmarks for the LFS after each five-yearly Census of Population and Housing. The last such revision was made in February 2004 to take account of the results of the 2001 Census of Population and Housing. Estimates from supplementary surveys conducted from and including February 2004 are therefore based on revised population benchmarks.
COMPARABILITY WITH MONTHLY LFS STATISTICS
18 Due to differences in the scope and sample size of this supplementary survey and that of the monthly LFS, the estimation procedure may lead to some small variations between labour force estimates from this survey and those from the LFS.
COMPARABILITY WITH PREVIOUS SURVEYS
19 From July 2004, a change has been made to the category 'considered too young or too old by employers' for the data items 'all difficulties in finding work' and 'main difficulty in finding work'. The category has been split into 'considered too young by employers' and 'considered too old by employers'. Data for 'considered too young by employers' is not published separately in all relevant tables, but are available on request.
PREVIOUS SURVEYS
20 JSE was first conducted in July 2002. Results of similar surveys on the job search experience of unemployed people conducted in July 1984, July 1985, June 1986, July 1988, July 1990, June 1991, and annually from July 1992 to July 2001 were published in various issues of Job Search Experience of Unemployed Persons, Australia (cat. no. 6222.0). Information on people who had started work for an employer for wages or salary during the 12 months up to the end of the reference week was collected in June 1986, and two-yearly from July 1990 to July 2000 and were published in Successful and Unsuccessful Job Search Experience, Australia (cat. no. 6245.0).
NEXT SURVEY
21 The ABS plans to conduct this survey again in July 2008.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
22 ABS publications draw extensively on information provided freely by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated: without it, the wide range of statistics published by the ABS would not be available. Information received by the ABS is treated in strict confidence as required by the Census and Statistics Act 1905.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
23 ABS publications which may also be of interest include:
24 Current publications and other products released by the ABS are available from the Statistics Page on the ABS website. The ABS also issues a daily Release Advice on the website which details products to be released in the week ahead.
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