6265.0 - Underemployed Workers, Australia, September 2012 
Quality Declaration
Quality Declaration ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 21/02/2013
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EXPLANATORY NOTES
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 people living in Indigenous communities in very remote parts of Australia. COVERAGE 7 The estimates in this publication relate to people covered by the survey in September 2012. 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 8 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. 9 The initial sample for the September 2012 LFS consisted of 36,897 private dwelling households and special dwelling units. Of the 29,735 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 28,162 or 94.7% fully responded to the Underemployed Workers Survey. The number of completed interviews obtained from these private dwelling households and special dwelling units (after taking into account scope, coverage and subsampling exclusions) was 30,502. RELIABILITY OF THE ESTIMATES 10 Estimates in this publication are subject to sampling and non-sampling errors:
SEASONAL FACTORS 11 The estimates are based on information collected in the survey month (September) and, due to seasonal factors, may not be representative of other months of the year. CLASSIFICATIONS USED 12 Country of birth data are classified according to the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC), 2011 (cat. no. 1269.0). 13 Educational attainment data are classified according to Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), 2001 (cat. no. 1272.0). See Appendix 1 for further information. COMPARABILITY OF TIME SERIES 14 The Labour Force Survey estimates, and estimates from the supplementary surveys, are calculated in such a way as to sum to independent estimates of the civilian population aged 15 years and over (population benchmarks). These population benchmarks are based on Estimated Resident Population (ERP) data. Generally, revisions are made to population benchmarks for the LFS following the final rebasing of population estimates to the latest five-yearly Census of Population and Housing, or when the need arises. 15 From February 2009 Labour Force Estimates have been compiled using population benchmarks based on the 2006 Census of Population and Housing. Revisions were applied to the population benchmarks in July 2010 and December 2012 to take into account the latest available population estimates in the LFS population benchmarks. The latest revision undertaken in December 2012 is not reflected in the estimates presented in this issue. 16 Changes to the LFS population benchmarks impact primarily on the magnitude of the Labour Force Survey estimates (i.e. employment and unemployment) that are directly related to the underlying size of the population. For more details on population benchmarks, see the Explanatory Notes in Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) and for details about the revisions made, see the article in the November 2012 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) and the article in the September 2010 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0). COMPARABILITY WITH PREVIOUS SURVEYS 17 In September 2008 there was a substantial increase in the number of part-time workers who preferred more hours and underemployed workers. This was due to a change in the question being asked of part-time workers. From September 2008, part-time workers were asked "Would you prefer to work more hours than you usually work?". In previous surveys part-time workers were asked "Would you prefer a job in which you worked more hours a week?". The question was altered to be consistent with the LFS and is now broader and more inclusive of people's situations as it relates to a preference for more hours of work. 18 This change contributed to an additional 115,800 people who were classified as part-time workers who preferred more hours and an additional 131,500 people who were classified as underemployed workers in 2008. Users need to exercise care when comparing the number of part-time workers who preferred more hours and unemployed workers from 2008 onwards with previous releases because of this break in the series. 19 From July 2004, a change was made to the category 'considered too young or too old by employers' for the items 'all difficulties in finding work with more hours' and 'main difficulty in finding work with more hours'. The category has been split into 'considered too young by employers' and 'considered to old by employers'. COMPARABILITY WITH MONTHLY LFS STATISTICS 20 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 monthly LFS. COMPARABILITY WITH ILO GUIDELINES 21 The ABS definition of underemployment is consistent with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) guidelines of time-related underemployment adopted in 1998. According to these guidelines, time-related underemployment exists when the hours of work of an employed person are below a threshold, and are insufficient in relation to an alternative employment situation in which the person is willing and available to engage. More specifically, people in time-related underemployment comprise all employed people (as defined) who satisfy the following three criteria:
22 A more detailed discussion is included in Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 6102.0.55.001), Chapter 5. PREVIOUS SURVEYS 23 The Underemployed Workers Survey was conducted in May 1985, 1988 and 1991. In 1994, the survey became an annual survey, collected each September. Results of previous surveys were published in Underemployed Workers, Australia (cat. no. 6265.0); and the standard data service Underemployed Workers, Australia (cat. no. 6265.0.40.001) for 1994 and 1995. ACKNOWLEDGMENT 24 The ABS draws 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 25 ABS publications which may be of interest include:
26 Current publications and other products released by the ABS are available free of charge from the Statistics Page on the ABS website. The ABS also issues a daily Release Advice on the web site which details products to be released in the week ahead. Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.
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