EXPLANATORY NOTES
INTRODUCTION
1 The statistics in this publication were compiled from data collected in the Locations of Work survey that was conducted throughout Australia in November 2005 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.
3 From April 2001, the LFS has been conducted using a redesigned questionnaire containing additional questions and some minor definitional changes. These changes also affect the supplementary surveys. For further details, see Information Paper: Implementing the Redesigned Labour Force Survey Questionnaire (cat. no. 6295.0) and Information Paper: Questionnaires Used in the Labour Force Survey (cat. no. 6232.0).
4 Information for this survey was collected using computer-assisted interviewing (CAI), whereby responses were recorded directly into an electronic questionnaire via a notebook computer. The CAI method was implemented in the LFS progressively between October 2003 to August 2004.
5 The change of interviewing method is not expected to have affected the estimates in any meaningful way.
CONCEPTS, SOURCES AND METHODS
6 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 <https://www.abs.gov.au> (Methods, Classifications, Concepts & Standards).
SCOPE
7 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).
8 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.
9 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.
10 The survey was restricted to employed people aged 15 years and over who were at work in either their main or second job during the reference week in November 2005.
COVERAGE
11 The estimates in this publication relate to people covered by the survey in November 2005. 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
12 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.
13 The initial sample for the November 2005 LFS consisted of 41,689 private dwelling households and special dwelling units. Of the 33,958 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 31,626 or 93.1% were fully responding to the Locations of Work survey. The number of completed interviews obtained from these private dwellings and special dwelling units (after taking into account scope, coverage and subsampling exclusions) was 31,203.
RELIABILITY OF THE ESTIMATES
14 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 further information refer to 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 efficient processing procedures.
SEASONAL FACTORS
15 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
16 Country of birth data are classified according to the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC), 1998 (cat. no. 1269.0).
17 Occupation data are classified according to the ASCO - Australian Standard Classification of Occupations, Second Edition (cat. no. 1220.0).
18 Industry data are classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 1993 (cat. no. 1292.0).
COMPARABILITY OF TIME SERIES
19 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
20 Due to differences in the scope and sample size of this supplementary survey and that of the 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
21 Results of similar surveys, conducted in April 1989, March 1992 and September 1995 were published in Persons Employed at Home, Australia (cat. no. 6275.0).
22 This survey was redesigned and renamed Locations of Work for June 2000. Conceptual changes were made to better align the survey with the guidelines and recommendations of the International Labour Organisation Home Work Convention, 1996. The June 2000 survey defined people who were 'employed at home in their main or second job during the reference week', as those who worked:
- all or most hours at their own home;
- all or most hours at the home of another person (excluding the home of their employer or client); or
- less hours at their own home than elsewhere but had an arrangement with their employer to work at home.
23 For the November 2005 survey, only those who worked more hours at their own home than any other single location in their main or second job, were defined as people who 'worked only or mainly at home in main or second job'.
24 Due to these conceptual changes, caution should be used in comparing results from this survey with periods prior to the introduction of the change.
NEXT SURVEY
25 The ABS plans to conduct this survey again in November 2008.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
26 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
27 ABS publications which may also be of interest include:
28 Current publications and other products released by the ABS are listed in the Catalogue of Publications and Products (cat. no. 1101.0). The Catalogue is available from any ABS office or from the this site. The ABS also issues a daily Release Advice on the web site which details products to be released in the week ahead.
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