6291.0.55.001 - Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Nov 2003  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 18/12/2003   
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  • Glossary

Active steps to find work

Includes writing, telephoning or applying in person to an employer for work; answering an advertisement for a job; checking factory noticeboards or the touchscreens at Centrelink offices; being registered with Centrelink as a jobseeker; checking or registering with any other employment agency; advertising or tendering for work; and contacting friends or relatives.

Actual hours worked

The hours actually worked by an employed person during the reference week, not necessarily hours paid for.

Actual hours worked in main job

The hours actually worked by an employed person in their main job during the reference week, not necessarily hours paid for.

Aggregate (actual) hours worked

The total number of hours a group of employed persons has actually worked during the reference week, not necessarily hours paid for.

Aggregate (actual) hours worked in main job

The total number of hours a group of employed persons has actually worked in their main job during the reference week, not necessarily hours paid for.

Aggregate (usual) hours worked

The total number of hours a group of employed persons usually works in a week, not necessarily hours paid for.

Aggregate duration of unemployment

The total duration of unemployment, in number of weeks, for a group of unemployed persons.

Aggregate duration of unemployment since last full-time job

The total duration of unemployment since last full-time job, in number of weeks, for a group of unemployed persons.

Attending full time education

Persons aged 15-19 who, during the reference week were enrolled full-time at secondary or high schools, and those aged 15-24 who, during the reference week, were enrolled full time at a TAFE college, university, or other educational institution.

Attending school

Persons aged 15-19 enrolled full time at secondary or high schools in the reference week.

Attending tertiary educational institution full time

Persons aged 15-24 enrolled full time at a TAFE college, university, or other educational institution in the reference week.

Average duration of unemployment

For a group of unemployed persons, the aggregate duration of unemployment divided by the number of persons in the group measured in number of weeks.

Calculation: Average Duration of Unemployment = Total Weeks Unemployed / Total Persons Unemployed

Average duration of unemployment since last full-time job

For a group of unemployed persons, the aggregate duration of unemployment since last full-time job divided by the number of persons in the group measured in number of weeks.

Average hours worked (in all jobs)

Aggregate hours worked by a group of employed persons divided by the number of persons in that group.

    Calculation:

    Average Hours Worked = Aggregate Hours Worked / Employed Total

    Average Hours Worked (Employed Full-Time) = Aggregate Hours Worked (Employed Full-Time) / Employed Full-Time
    Average Hours Worked (Employed Part-Time) = Aggregate Hours Worked (Employed Part-Time) / Employed Part-Time

Average (actual) hours worked in main job

Aggregate actual hours worked in main job by a group divided by the number of persons in that group.

Balance of state

For each state, the part of the state other than the state capital city, as defined. Balance of state data for the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory includes data for the entire Territory (i.e. these Territories are not divided into state capital city and balance of state).

Civilian population aged 15 years and over

All usual residents of Australia aged 15 years and over except members of the permanent defence forces, certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments customarily excluded from census and estimated population counts, overseas residents in Australia, and members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants) stationed in Australia.

Contributing family worker

A person who works without pay, in an economic enterprise operated by a relative.

Country of Birth

Classified according to the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC) (cat. no. 1269.0).

Couple families

A family based on two persons who are in a registered or de facto marriage (see social marital status) and who are usually resident in the same household.

Dependent child

Any child in a family under 15 years of age or aged 15-24 years who is attending full-time education (except those who have a partner or child of their own usually resident in the household).

Dependent student

A child who is 15-24 years of age, who is attending full-time education, and who has no partner or child of their own usually resident in the same household.

Duration of unemployment

Data is available either side of 2001 for this definition, and represents the official measure of duration of unemployment. Defined in the LFS as the elapsed period of time since an unemployed person began looking for work, until the end of the reference week; or the period of time since an unemployed person last worked in any job for two weeks or more, until the end of the reference week, whichever is the shorter period. Brief periods of work (of less than two weeks) since the person began looking for work are disregarded.

Duration of unemployment since last full time job

Data is available either side of 2001 for this definition, however prior to April 2001, duration of unemployment was defined in the LFS as the period of time from when an unemployed person began looking for work, until the end of the reference week; or the period of time since an unemployed person last worked full-time for two weeks or more, until the end of the reference week; whichever was the shorter period.

Employed

Persons aged 15 years and over who, during the reference week:
  • worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind, in a job or business or on a farm (comprising employees, employers and own account workers); or
  • worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (i.e.contributing family workers); or
  • were employees who had a job but were not at work and were:
  • away from work for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week; or
  • away from work for more than four weeks up to the end of the reference week and received pay for some or all of the four week period to the end of the reference week; or
  • away from work as a standard work or shift arrangement; or
  • on strike or locked out; or
  • on workers’ compensation and expected to return to their job; or
  • were employers or own account workers, who had a job, business or farm, but were not at work.

    Calculation:

    Employed Total = Employed Full-Time + Employed Part-Time


Employed full-time

See full-time employed.

Employed part-time

See part-time employed.

Employee

A person who works for a public or private employer and receives remuneration in wages, salary, a retainer fee by their employer while working on a commission basis, tips, piece-rates or payment in kind, or a person who operates his or her own incorporated enterprise with or without hiring employees.

Employer

A person who operates his or her own unincorporated economic enterprise or engages independently in a profession or trade, and hires one or more employees.

Employment to population ratio

For any group, the number of employed persons expressed as a percentage of the civilian population aged 15 years and over in the same group.

Calculation: Employment to Population Ratio = Employed Total / Civilian Population aged 15 and over

Family

Two or more persons, one of whom is at least 15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (social), adoption, step or fostering; and who are usually resident in the same household. The basis of a family is formed by identifying the presence of a couple relationship, lone parent-child relationship or other blood relationship. Some households will, therefore, contain more than one family.

Former workers

Unemployed persons who have previously worked for two weeks or more but not in the past two years.

Full-time employed

Persons employed full-time are those employed persons who usually work 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs) and those who, although usually working less than 35 hours a week, worked 35 hours or more during the reference week.

Hours worked

The general notion of hours of work encompasses a number of related concepts. See actual hours worked; usual hours worked; actual hours worked in main job; full time employed; part time employed; aggregate (actual) hours worked; aggregate (actual) hours worked in main job; aggregate (usual) hours worked; average hours worked (in all jobs); and average (actual) hours worked in main job; for details of the hours worked concepts available from the Labour Force Survey.

Household

A group of one or more persons in a private dwelling who consider themselves to be separate from other persons (if any) in the dwelling, and who make regular provision to take meals separately from other persons, i.e. at different times or in different rooms. Lodgers who receive accommodation but no meals are treated as separate households. Boarders who receive both accommodation and meals are not treated as separate households. A household may consist of any number of families and non-family members.

Industry

An industry is a group of businesses or organisations that perform similar sets of activities in terms of the production of goods and services. Industry is classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification 1993 ANZSIC 1993 (cat. no. 1292.0). The industry assigned to an employed person is determined from a description of the kind of business or service carried out at the person's main job. Unemployed persons who had worked for two weeks or more in the last two years are classified according to the industry of their most recent job.

To enable the conversion of historical data from Australian Standard Industrial Classification (ASIC) to ANZSIC for the period November 1984 to May 1994, a concordance was published in the August 1994 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6203.0) and in the Information Paper - Labour Force Survey: Introduction of ANZSIC for Industry Data (Replacement Publication) (cat. no. 6259.0). It has been found that the concordance, which was based on preliminary investigations, did not provide the most appropriate conversion for certain Group level industries. An improved concordance has now been applied to historical Labour Force Survey estimates. This concordance was published in an appendix to the May 1996 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6203.0), and in a further issue of the above Information Paper. For further information about the new concordance or the availability of data, contact the Assistant Director, Labour Force Estimates, on Canberra 02 6252 6525.

Job leavers

Unemployed persons who have worked for two weeks or more in the past two years and left that job voluntarily, for example, because of unsatisfactory work arrangements/pay/hours; the job was a holiday job or they left the job to return to studies; or their last job was running their own business and they closed down or sold that business for reasons other than financial difficulties.

Job losers

Unemployed persons who have worked for two weeks or more in the past two years and left that job involuntarily, that is, were laid off or retrenched from that job; left that job because of their own ill-health or injury; the job was seasonal or temporary; or their last job was running their own business and the business closed down because of financial difficulties.

Labour force

For any group, persons who were employed or unemployed, as defined.
    Calculation:

    Labour Force = Employed Total + Unemployed Total

    Full-Time Labour Force = Employed Full-Time + Unemployed Looking for Full-Time Work

Labour force status

A classification of the civilian population aged 15 years and over into employed, unemployed or not in the labour force, as defined. The definitions conform closely to the international standard definitions adopted by the International Conferences of Labour Statisticians.

Lone parent

A person who has no spouse or partner present in the household but who forms a parent-child relationship with at least one dependent or non-dependent child usually resident in the household.

Lone person

A person who makes provision for their food and other essentials for living, without combining with any other person to form part of a multi-person household. They may live in a dwelling on their own or share a dwelling with another individual or family.

Long-term unemployed

Persons unemployed for a period of 52 weeks or more. See duration of unemployment for details of the calculation of duration of unemployment.

Long-term unemployed as a proportion of total unemployment

For any group, the number of long-term unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the unemployed population.

Long-term unemployed since last full-time job

Persons unemployed since last full-time job for a period of 52 weeks or more.

Long-term unemployment rate

The number of long-term unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the labour force.

Looking for first job

People classified as looking for first job are those people who have not previously worked for two weeks or more, see unemployed looking for first job; and unemployed looking for first full-time job.

Main English speaking countries

The countries included in the list of Main English Speaking Countries are not classified as such on the basis of whether or not English is the predominant or official language of that country. Rather, these are countries from which Australia does receive, or has received, significant numbers of overseas settlers who are likely to speak English. For example, South Africa is included, not because English is the main or first language of that country, but because South Africans who migrate to Australia are likely to speak English. The set of Main English Speaking Countries used by the ABS in Labour Force Survey data consists of United Kingdom (including England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), Republic of Ireland, South Africa, Canada, the United States of America and New Zealand.

Main job

The job in which the person works the most hours.

Marital status

See social marital status.

Non-dependent child

A child of a couple or lone parent usually resident in the household, aged 15 years and over and who is not a dependent student aged 15-24 years, and who has no partner or child of their own usually resident in the household.

Non-family member

A person who is not related to any other member of the household in which they are living.

Not in the labour force

Persons who were not classified as employed or unemployed as defined.

Occupation

An occupation is a collection of jobs that are sufficiently similar in their main tasks to be grouped together for the purposes of classification. Occupation is classified according to Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO), Second Edition (cat. no. 1220.0) from August 1996. The occupation assigned to an employed person relates to the person's main job. Unemployed persons who had worked for two weeks or more in the last two years are classified according to the occupation of their most recent job. From August 1986 - May 1996 occupation is classified according to Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO), First Edition (cat. no. 1222.0).

One parent family

A family consisting of a lone parent with at least one dependent or non-dependent child (regardless of age) who is also usually resident in the household.

Original series

Estimates produced directly from the survey data, which have not been subject to seasonal adjustment or trend estimation.

Other family

Related individuals residing in the same household who do not form a couple or parent-child relationship with any other person in the household and are not attached to a couple or one parent family in the household. If two brothers, for example, are living together and neither is a spouse, a lone parent or a child, then they are classified as other family.

Own-account worker

A person who operates his or her own unincorporated economic enterprise or engages independently in a profession or trade, and hires no employees.

Participation rate

The labour force participation rate for any group within the population is the labour force component of that group, expressed as a percentage of that population in the same group.

Calculation:
    Participation Rate = Labour Force / Civilian Population aged 15 and over

Part-time employed

Persons employed part-time are those employed persons who usually worked less than 35 hours a week (in all jobs) and either did so during the reference week, or were not at work in the reference week.

Reason for leaving last job

Unemployed persons who had worked for two weeks or more in the past two years classified by whether they left that job voluntarily, that is, job leavers; or left that job involuntarily, that is, job losers.

Regions

The regions used for the publication of labour force statistics are based on standard geographical regions as defined in the Statistical Geography: Volume 1 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0). For more information, see Information Paper: Labour Force Survey Sample Design (cat. no. 6269.0).

Seasonally adjusted series

A time series of estimates with the estimated effects of normal seasonal variation removed (see paragraph 10, Explanatory Notes).

Social marital status

Social marital status is the relationship status of an individual with reference to another person who is usually resident in the household. A marriage exists when two people live together as husband and wife, or partners, regardless of whether the marriage is formalised through registration. Individuals are, therefore, regarded as married if they are in a de facto marriage, or if they are living with the person to whom they are registered as married.

State capital cities

The areas determining the six state capital cities are the Statistical Divisions for those capital cities defined in the Statistical Geography: Volume 1 - Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) (cat. no. 1216.0).

Status in employment

Employed persons classified by whether they were employers, own account workers, employees, or contributing family workers.

Trend series

A smoothed seasonally adjusted series of estimates (see paragraphs 11 - 13, Explanatory Notes).

Unemployed

Persons aged 15 and over who were not employed during the reference week, and:
  • had actively looked for full-time or part-time work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the reference week and:
  • were available for work in the reference week; or
  • were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of the reference week, and could have started in the reference week if the job had been available then.
      Calculation:

      Unemployed Total = Unemployed Looking for Full-Time Work + Unemployed Looking for Part-Time Work

    Unemployed looking for first full-time job

    Unemployed persons looking for full-time work who had never worked full-time for two weeks or more.

    Unemployed looking for first job

    Unemployed persons who had never worked for two weeks or more.

    Unemployed looking for full-time work

    Unemployed persons who:
  • actively looked for full-time work and were available for work in the reference week; or
  • actively looked for work and were not available for work in the reference week because they were waiting to start a new full-time job.

    Unemployed looking for part-time work

    Unemployed persons who:
  • actively looked for part-time work only and were available for work in the reference week; or
  • actively looked for work and were not available for work in the reference week because they were waiting to start a new part-time job.

    Unemployed persons classified by industry and occupation

    Unemployed persons who had worked for two weeks or more in the last two years are classified according to their industry and occupation of their most recent job.

    Unemployment rate

    For any group, the number of unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the labour force in the same group.
      Calculation:

      Unemployment Rate = Unemployed persons / Labour Force

      Full-Time Unemployment Rate = Unemployed Looking for Full-Time Work / Full-Time Labour Force

    Unemployment to population ratio

    For any group, the number of unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the civilian population aged 15 and over in the same group.
      Calculation:

      Unemployment to Population Ratio = Unemployed Total / Civilian Population aged 15 and over

    Usual hours worked

    The hours worked during a typical week, not necessarily hours paid for. Actual hours worked (for a specific reference period) may differ from usual hours worked due to illness, vacation, strike, overtime work, a change of job or similar reasons. Applies both to persons at work and to persons temporarily absent from work.

    RELATED PUBLICATIONS


    Users may also wish to refer to the following publications which relate to the labour force and are available on request:

    Key References:

    Australian Labour Market Statistics (cat. no. 6105.0) - issued quarterly

    Information Paper: Changes to Labour Force Survey Products, 2002 & 2003 (cat. no. 6297.0)

    Information Paper: Forthcoming Changes to Labour Force Statistics, 2003 (cat. no. 6292.0)

    Information Paper: Implementing the Redesigned Labour Force Survey Questionnaire, 2001 (cat. no. 6295.0)

    Information Paper: Labour Force Survey Questionnaire Redesign, 2000 (cat. no. 6294.0)

    Information Paper: Labour Force Survey Sample Design, 2002 (cat. no. 6269.0)

    Information Paper: Labour Force Survey Standard Errors, 2003 (cat. no. 6298.0)

    Information Paper: Measuring Employment and Unemployment, 1995 (cat. no. 6279.0)

    Information Paper: Questionnaires Used in the Labour Force Survey, 2001 (cat. no. 6232.0)


    Secondary References:

    Australia's Long-term Unemployed - A Statistical Profile, 1994 (cat. no. 6255.0)

    Directory of Labour Market and Social Survey Data (Choosing data from the ABS Household Survey Program), 1994 (cat. no. 1135.0)

    Information Paper: ABS Labour Market Statistics, Australia, 2003 (cat. no. 6106.0.55.001)

    Information Paper: A Guide to Interpreting Time Series - Monitoring "Trends" an Overview, 1993 (cat. no. 1348.0)

    Information Paper: Changes to LFS Products, 2002 (cat. no. 6297.0)

    Information Paper: Measures of Labour Underutilisation, 2002 (cat. no. 6296.0)

    Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) - issued monthly

    Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6203.0) - issued monthly, final issue February 2003

    Labour Force, Selected Summary Tables, Australia (cat. no. 6291.0.40.001) - issued monthly, February 2003 final issue

    Labour Force, Teenage Employment and Unemployment, Australia, Preliminary - Data Report (cat. no. 6202.0.40.001) - issued monthly, final issue mid 2003

    Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods, 2001 (cat. no. 6102.0)


    Labour Force Supplementary and Other Surveys:

    Career Experience, Australia (cat. no. 6254.0)

    Education and Work, Australia (cat. no. 6227.0)

    Employee Earnings, Benefits, and Trade Union Membership, Australia (cat. no. 6310.0) - issued annually

    Employment Arrangements and Superannuation, Australia (cat. no. 6361.0)

    Forms of Employment, Australia (cat. no. 6359.0)

    Job Search Experience, Australia (cat. no. 6222.0) - issued annually

    Labour Force, Australia, 1978 - 1995 (cat. no. 6204.0) - released in 1996

    Labour Force Experience, Australia (cat. no. 6206.0)

    Labour Force Projections, Australia: 1999 to 2016, 1999 (cat. no. 6260.0)

    Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Families, Australia (cat. no. 6224.0) - discontinued in 2001, data available in data cubes

    Labour Force Survey: Introduction of ANZSIC for Industry data (Replacement publication), (cat. no. 6259.0)

    Labour Mobility, Australia (cat. no. 6209.0)

    Locations of Work, Australia (cat. no. 6275.0)

    Persons Not in the Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6220.0) - issued annually

    Retirement and Retirement Intentions, Australia (cat. no. 6238.0)

    Retrenchment and Redundancy, Australia (cat. no. 6266.0)

    Successful and Unsuccessful Job Search Experience, Australia (cat. no. 6245.0)

    Superannuation: Coverage and Financial Characteristics, Australia (cat. no. 6360.0)

    Underemployed Workers, Australia (cat. no. 6265.0)

    Wage and Salary Earners, Public Sector, Australia (cat. no. 6248.0) - issued quarterly

    Work-Related Injuries, Australia (cat. no. 6324.0)

    Working Arrangements, Australia (cat. no. 6342.0)

    Current publications produced by the ABS are listed in the Catalogue of Publications and Products, Australia (cat. no. 1101.0). The ABS also issues, on Tuesdays and Fridays, a Release Advice (cat. no. 1105.0) which lists publications to be released in the next few days. The Catalogue and Release Advice are available from any ABS office or from the ABS Information Service on this web site