4160.0 - Measuring Wellbeing: Frameworks for Australian Social Statistics, 2001
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 12/10/2001
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Data sources
SURVEY OF EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT PATTERNS (ABS) The Survey of Employment and Unemployment Patterns, conducted between 1994 and 1997, was a longitudinal survey designed to provide information on the dynamics of the labour market and to assist in the assessment of the impact of labour market assistance initiatives. The survey collected information on four separate occasions from a sample of people who were identified as being jobseekers or recent labour market program participants, and a population reference group (or control group). After providing initial data about their current employment status, employment history, level of education and a range of other personal characteristics, each subsequent interview obtained details of their employment related activities over the intervening period. With respondents' consent information collected directly from them was linked with income support data from the then Department of Social Security and with labour market program participation data from the then Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs. The survey has been widely used by social and economic analysts to assess employment outcomes for various population sub-groups and the merits of labour market assistance schemes in alleviating the extent of joblessness. SURVEY OF EMPLOYMENT ARRANGEMENTS AND SUPERANNUATION (ABS) The Survey of Employment Arrangements and Superannuation (SEAS) was a new household survey conducted for the first time in 2000. It is planned to be repeated every six years. Information about people's working arrangements available from the survey includes occupation, industry, employment type, job duration, and work patterns and preferences. SEAS focused on distinguishing newer and emerging working arrangements from the prevalent, but declining, full-time ongoing working arrangements with regular hours and paid leave entitlements. Superannuation information includes types of contributions and amount, amount accrued in superannuation, and benefit structure and fund type of each account. For retired people, information includes whether they had received a lump sum recently, the amount of the lump sum received and whether any of the lump sum was rolled over. Information obtained from the survey is particularly relevant to employment or labour market policy and retirement income policy. CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING (ABS) The Census of Population and Housing conducted every five years provides data about the labour force status of individuals aged 15 years and over and, for those employed, details of their full-time part-time status, occupation and industry of employment. The questionnaire module used in the Census to produce aggregates of labour force status is consistent with international standards, but uses fewer questions than the LFS. Because of this and because of differences in collection methods and scope, the results are not strictly comparable with those produced from the LFS. However, because it has information for all members of the population, the Census is able to provide statistics about people's particular circumstances at fine levels of classificatory detail that are not generally available from social surveys. These include statistics of people in fine level classifications of occupation and industry which can be used in association with other demographic, social and geographical area variables to the full extent to which each of their associated classifications allow. TIME USE SURVEY (ABS) The Time Use Survey, last conducted in 1997 and next planned for 2005, provides detailed information on the daily activity patterns of people in Australia in terms of the times (i.e. the time of day/week and duration of time) spent on those activities. Among other uses, the survey supports the analysis of patterns of engagement in paid and unpaid work among men, women and other sub-groups of the population. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY SURVEY (ABS) The annual Economic Activity Survey established at the beginning of the 1990s directly collects information about the operation and financial performance of all businesses in the public trading and private employing sectors of the Australian economy. It provides key measures on the employment, income and expenditure of Australian industries and includes data on wages and salary costs. Data from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority are also incorporated. More frequent information on economic activity of private businesses is also collected in the Quarterly Economic Activity Survey (QEAS). This survey, which incorporates the collection of information previously obtained in a number of other surveys, produces estimates of employment, profits, selected income items including sales, selected expenses including labour costs, and inventories, by private businesses in Australia. From 2002 the QEAS will provide private sector earnings data that was formerly made available from the quarterly Survey of Employment and Earnings (SEE). The means of providing public sector employment and earnings data that has been provided by SEE, is currently under review. MAJOR LABOUR COSTS SURVEY (ABS) The Major Labour Costs Survey aims to collect data on the costs incurred by employers as a consequence of employing labour. It is a mail based survey of employers, which was conducted annually from the mid eighties to the beginning of the nineties and is now carried out every five years - the last survey being in respect of 1996-97. Estimates of labour costs, including employee earnings, employer payments for superannuation, workers' compensation, payroll tax and fringe benefits tax, are produced. These data are available for public and private sector employers and can also be classified by industry, employer size and State. Major economic policy departments at both the Commonwealth and State levels consider labour costs data to be essential to their needs, especially in view of the Government's prices and incomes policy and the need to monitor labour costs for the wage fixation process. EMPLOYMENT EARNINGS AND HOURS (ABS) The Survey of Employment Earnings and Hours has been conducted since 1974 and is currently run biennially. This business based survey produces estimates of the composition and distribution of employees earnings and hours, as well as estimates of the proportion of employees whose pay is set on awards only, by collective agreements and by individual agreements. Estimates are used in developing and reviewing wages and labour market policies, in the wage negotiating process, and in research on various aspects of the labour market. AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS (ABS) The quarterly survey of Average Weekly Earnings (AWE), based on samples of businesses since 1981, measures the average weekly earnings of employed wage and salary earners (excluding those employed in private agriculture) in Australia. Estimates of average weekly ordinary time and total earnings are available for both full-time adult employees and all employees and are classified by sector, state or territory, industry and sex. The AWE series is a major economic indicator and is consequently used by a large number of users in both Commonwealth and State government departments, employer associations, and trade unions. Uses of the data include: the adjustment of payments specified in Government legislation, both State and Federal or in escalation clauses in business contracts; in economic and labour market analysis by both government and private organisations; and in representations in the award and wage case submission process. WAGE COST INDEX (ABS) The Wage Cost Index (WCI) is one of the key quarterly economic indicators produced by the ABS. The index measures changes over time in wage and salary costs in the Australian labour market, unaffected by changes in the quality and quantity of work performed (e.g. the WCI is a measure of change in the 'price' of labour). Estimates are used in formulating industrial relations and wages policies, economic analysis and contract adjustment. The ABS has published estimates for the WCI on a quarterly basis since December 1997. Four sets of quarterly Laspeyres indexes are compiled (total hourly rates of pay - excluding bonuses; ordinary time hourly rates of pay - excluding bonuses; total hourly rates of pay - including bonuses; and ordinary time hourly rates of pay - including bonuses). Within each index set, separate indexes can be made available for various combinations of State/Territory, sector (private/public), broad industry and broad occupation groups. INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES (ABS) The ABS has been collecting information about industrial disputes since 1913. The data, available on a monthly basis, are mainly compiled from information obtained from employers (both private and public sector), from trade unions and from reports of government authorities. Because particulars of some stoppages (e.g. State or Territory or Australia-wide general strikes) are estimated, the data gives a broad measure of the extent of industrial unrest. The information collected by the ABS includes the number of disputes, their cause and method of settlement, the number of employees involved (separately for direct and indirect involvement) and working days lost (total and per thousand employees) and is classified by State, industry, duration of dispute, cause of dispute and method of settlement. JOB VACANCY SURVEY (ABS) The ABS Job Vacancy Survey, a business survey, was first conducted in 1974 and since 1979 has been conducted as a quarterly survey. The survey produces estimates (by State and Territory, sector, and industry) of the number of job vacancies and job vacancy rates in Australia which are used as a leading indicators of employment growth, in monitoring of the Australian economy, and for formulating economic policy. JOB VACANCIES (ANZ AND DEWSRB) The most commonly used non-ABS source of job vacancy data is the monthly ANZ (Australian and New Zealand Banking Group Limited) job advertisement series, which extends back to 1981. The series counts job advertisements in newspapers in capital cities, and Internet advertisements carried on selected employment Internet sites. Recent and ongoing changes in hiring practices, e.g. increasing use of employment agencies, and the switch from newspaper to Internet advertising, have resulted in job vacancy data based on newspaper advertisements becoming less comprehensive. In December 2000, the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business (DEWSRB) commenced publication of the Vacancy Report. This monthly publication consist of three series: the Skilled Vacancies Index; the Information and Communications Technology Vacancies Index; and a count of vacancies on DEWRSB's employment website, Australian Jobsearch. As with the ANZ series some components are also based on job advertisements found in particular media; however, the series provides more classificatory information, in terms of type and location of jobs, than is available from the ANZ series. Through its online Job Outlook services, DEWRSB also provide a range of information about skill shortages in many occupations. This information has a number of components and is based on information compiled from a number of sources. These include data on projected jobs growth (about 5-6 years out) based on projections provided by the Centre of Policy Studies at Monash University. SMALL AREA LABOUR MARKET CONDITIONS (DEWRSB) Published on a quarterly basis by DEWRSB are a number of series which primarily draw on ABS LFS and Centrelink administrative data to provide regional estimates (both by Statistical Local Areas and DEWRSB labour market regions) of labour market conditions in those areas. Measures provided included participation rates, employment, employment growth over the previous quarter and unemployment. FEDERAL ENTERPRISE BARGAINING (DEWRSB) Information relating to federal enterprise bargaining agreements made in Australia is available from an administrative database, the Workplace Agreements Database (WAD) maintained by DEWRSB. The WAD records details on employee coverage, wages (size and timing of increases) and conditions of employment of all known federal collective agreements which have been certified or approved by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. Information from the database is made available through the release of a quarterly publication 'Trends in Federal Enterprise Bargaining'. DATA FROM CENTRELINK Statistical information about people who receive income support payments is published regularly by the Department of Family and Community Services. This is based on the administrative records of people receiving income support payments from Centrelink (the agency that actually approves and provides the payments to those eligible for support). Included among these recipients are people who have received various labour market related payments (typically because they are unemployed or have little income from their employment) and regular statistics are available about the number and characteristics of people receiving such payments. These are available by geographical area which provide additional measures of social circumstances in various parts of Australia. The number of people receiving work related payments may sometimes be used as proximate measures of unemployment although they do not concur with the official estimates provided by the ABS. DATA FROM THE AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE (ATO) Information on individual and business tax returns lodged with the ATO also provides opportunities for producing statistics about employment activity at national and sub-national levels. Data relating to individuals from this source is currently being used to present an annual series of statistics on numbers of people in Statistical Local Areas who receive wages and salaries. These data are available by age, sex and occupation (broad groups) and include data on levels of wage and salary income received. First obtained in respect of the 1995-96 financial year these data are being published by the ABS in various products concerned with providing geographical area related data. NATIONAL DATA SET FOR COMPENSATION-BASED STATISTICS (NOHSC) Data on occupational injuries and diseases are principally compiled from administrative records of Commonwealth, State and Territory compensation authorities by the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC). Such compensation based data, has been supplied to NOHSC each year from 1991-92 onwards to accord with National Data Set standards which were most recently reviewed in 1999. Data items include: employer description - both in terms of industry and size; employee characteristics - age and sex; job characteristics - occupation, hours usually worked; injury/disease occurrence details - nature of injury/disease, bodily location of injury/disease; and, outcome of incident - time lost, payments made and a severity indicator.
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