6202.0 - Labour Force, Australia, Oct 2004  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 11/11/2004   
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OCTOBER KEY FIGURES

Sep 2004
Oct 2004
Sep 04 to Oct 04
Oct 03 to Oct 04
Trend
Employed persons ('000)
9,706.1
9,723.0
16.9
2.2
%
Unemployed persons ('000)
567.1
562.6
-4.5
-4.8
%
Unemployment rate (%)
5.5
5.5
-0.1
pts
-0.4
pts
Participation rate (%)
63.5
63.6
0.0
pts
0.2
pts
Seasonally Adjusted
Employed persons ('000)
9,720.7
9,764.4
43.7
2.6
%
Unemployed persons ('000)
567.5
545.9
-21.6
-8.2
%
Unemployment rate (%)
5.5
5.3
-0.2
pts
-0.6
pts
Participation rate (%)
63.6
63.7
0.1
pts
0.2
pts

Employed Persons
Graph: Employed Persons

Unemployment rate
Graph: Unemployment rate



OCTOBER KEY POINTS


TREND ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

  • EMPLOYMENT increased to 9,723,000
  • UNEMPLOYMENT decreased to 562,600
  • UNEMPLOYMENT RATE decreased slightly, but the rounded estimate remained at 5.5%
  • PARTICIPATION RATE increased to 63.6%


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

EMPLOYMENT
  • increased by 43,700 to 9,764,400. Full-time employment increased by 19,300 to 6,980,300 while part-time employment increased by 24,300 to 2,784,100

UNEMPLOYMENT
  • decreased by 21,600 to 545,900. The number of persons looking for full-time work decreased by 14,000 to 385,900 and the number of persons looking for part-time work decreased by 7,600 to 160,000.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
  • decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 5.3%. The male unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 5.3% and the female unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 5.3%.

PARTICIPATION RATE
  • increased by 0.1 percentage point to 63.7%.


NOTES

FEDERAL AND ACT ELECTIONS

October 2004 employment data may have been affected by the recruitment of temporary workers by the Australian Electoral Commission to conduct the Federal election held on 9 October 2004. An election was also held in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) on 16 October 2004 which may have had a similar effect on ACT employment. The reference period for the October 2004 Labour Force Survey was from 4 to 17 October.


The ABS is unable to estimate the net addition to employment of this recruitment activity.



RESPONSE RATES

The response rate for the October 2004 Labour Force Survey returned to around the usual national level. Further analysis since the last issue of this publication has confirmed that the slightly lower response rate in September had no significant impact on the estimate of employment for that month.



SAMPLING ERRORS

The estimates in this publication are based on a sample survey. Because the entire population is not enumerated, the published estimates and the movements derived from them are subject to sampling variability. Standard errors give a measure of this variability and appear on pages 27 and 28.


The 95% confidence intervals below provide another way of looking at the variability inherent in estimates from sample surveys. The interval bounded by the two limits is the 95% confidence interval. A 95% confidence interval has a 95% chance of including the true value of the estimate.

Movements in seasonally adjusted series between September and October 2004
Monthly change
95% Confidence interval
Total Employment
43,700
6,500
to
80,900
Total Unemployment
-21,600
-35,200
to
-8,000
Unemployment rate
-0.2 pts
-0.4 pts
to
0.0 pts
Participation rate
0.1 pts
-0.1 pts
to
0.3 pts


INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Michael Johnson on Canberra (02) 6252 6525.



PRINCIPAL LABOUR FORCE SERIES TREND ESTIMATES


EMPLOYED PERSONS

The trend estimate of employed persons generally rose from a low of 7,637,500 in December 1992 to 9,055,200 in September 2000. The trend estimate then fell slightly to 9,033,500 in January 2001, before rising to 9,463,500 in March 2003. The trend estimate then fell for three months, before rising to stand at 9,723,000 in October 2004.

Graph: Employed Persons (Trend)



UNEMPLOYED PERSONS

The trend estimate of unemployed persons fell rapidly from 920,700 in September 1993 to 728,100 in July 1995. The trend estimate then rose to 771,700 in February 1997, before falling to 583,600 in September 2000. After rising to 685,300 in October 2001, the trend estimate has generally fallen to stand at 562,600 in October 2004.

Graph: Unemployed Persons (Trend)



UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

The trend unemployment rate fell rapidly from 10.7% in August 1993 to 8.1% in July 1995. The trend estimate then rose slowly, reaching 8.4% in February 1997, before falling to 6.1% in September 2000. After rising to 7.0% in October 2001, the trend estimate has since fallen to stand at 5.5% in October 2004.

Graph: Unemployment Rate (Trend)



STATES TREND ESTIMATES


EMPLOYED PERSONS


NEW SOUTH WALES

From 2,545,100 in February 1993, the trend estimate of employment in New South Wales rose to 2,811,200 in January 1996 before falling to 2,801,200 in July 1997. The trend then generally rose to 3,192,400 in April 2004, before falling to 3,175,900 in October 2004.

Graph: Employed Persons NSW (Trend)



VICTORIA

The trend estimate of employment in Victoria rose from 1,930,100 in May 1993, to 2,069,200 in June 1995. Growth then slowed until mid 1997. Since then the trend has generally risen to stand at 2,421,900 in October 2004.

Graph: Employed Persons Vic (Trend)



QUEENSLAND

The trend estimate of employment in Queensland has generally been rising since October 1994, when it stood at 1,461,900. Apart from a small decrease in late 2000, the trend has been steadily increasing and stands at 1,926,300 in October 2004.

Graph: Employed Persons Qld (Trend)



SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The trend estimate of employment in South Australia, although fluctuating, generally rose from 645,500 in January 1995 to 683,000 in September 2000. After a small decrease in late 2000, the trend estimate has generally risen to stand at 723,300 in October 2004.

Graph: Employed Persons SA (Trend)



WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The trend estimate of employment in Western Australia has generally been rising since October 1992, when it stood at 738,800. The strongest period of growth occurred prior to mid 1995. Since then the trend estimate has increased at a slower rate, and stands at 990,200 in October 2004.

Graph: Employed Persons WA (Trend)



TASMANIA

From a high of 202,300 in January 1996, the trend estimate of employment in Tasmania fell sharply to 192,300 in August 1997. The trend then generally rose to 201,600 in December 2000, before falling to 197,900 in March 2002. Since then the trend has risen to stand at 214,900 in October 2004.

Graph: Employed Persons Tas (Trend)