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KEY FINDINGS

In February 2018, the Participation, Job Search and Mobility (PJSM) survey estimated 62.7% the civilian population aged 15 years and over were employed and 37.3% were not.





EMPLOYED

Of those who were employed at February 2018:

• 9.0% (1,120,000), were underemployed (Table 1);
  • the median duration of insufficient work for underemployed part-time workers was 43 weeks (Table 5).
  • 46.0% of part-time underemployed workers reported having a period of insufficient work of a year or more (Table 5).
  • 17.9% of part-time underemployed workers stated they would move interstate and 21.9% said they would move intrastate if a suitable job was offered (Table 6).
  • 49.5% of part-time underemployed workers did not look for work or more hours in the 12 months to February 2018 (Table 7).
  • the top five steps underemployed people took to find work were (Table 6):
    • “Looked at advertisements for jobs on the Internet, in a newspaper or on notice boards” – 40.4%;
    • “Wrote, phoned or applied in person to an employer for work” – 34.0%;
    • “Asked current employer for more work” – 32.0%
    • “Answered an advertisement for a job on the Internet, in a newspaper or on notice boards” – 31.2%; and
    • “Contacted friends or relatives” – 22.6%.

• 90.3% (6,685,000), were classified as not in the labour force at February 2018.
• 9.7% (722,000), were classified as unemployed at February 2018.

• 79.7% (5,330,000), either did not want to work, or were permanently unable to work (Table 1);
• 16.2% (1,080,000), were classified as marginally attached to the labour force (Table 1);
  • 51% of those who were marginally attached to the labour force were aged between 15 to 34 years (Table 8).
  • 28% of those who were marginally attached had a job within the last 12 months (Table 9).
  • 9.6% of those who were marginally attached to the labour force were classified as discouraged job seekers (Table 1).
  • 49.7% of discouraged job seekers were aged 55 and over (Table 8).

• 89.0% (642,000), reported having difficulty finding work (Table 12);
  • the highest category cited as the main difficulty finding work for people who were unemployed was “Too many applicants for available jobs”, with 19.2% citing it as the main difficulty they faced (Table 12).
  • the top five steps unemployed people took to find work were (Table 13):
    • “Looked at advertisements for jobs on the Internet, in a newspaper or on notice boards” – 89.2%;
    • “Wrote, phoned or applied in person to an employer for work” – 86.2%;
    • “Answered an advertisement for a job on the Internet, in a newspaper or on notice boards” – 75.6%;
    • “Contacted friends or relatives” – 51.6%; and
    • “Had an interview with an employer” – 42.6%.

• 8.1% (1,005,000) of employed persons, reported changing employers or businesses in the 12 months up to February 2018 (Table 18).
  • of those who reported changing employers or businesses in the 12 months up to February 2018, 21.1% were Professionals at February 2017 (Table 20).

• 1.4% (268,000) of the civilian population aged 15 and over reported being retrenched from their last job (Table 17).
• 12.3% (238,000) of people, who were employed in the Retail trade or Accommodation and services industries at February 2017, reported either having a job in a different industry or not being employed at February 2018 (Table 19).