2901.0 - Census Dictionary, 2011  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 23/05/2011   
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2011 Census Dictionary >> Glossary >> Occupation (OCCP)

Occupation (OCCP)

Occupation information is collected in the Census for all employed people aged 15 years and over. Two questions are used in the Census:
    • 'In the main job held last week, what was the person's occupation - Give full title'; and
    • 'What are the main tasks that the person usually performs in the occupation...'.

Collecting both occupation title and task information ensures more accurate coding of occupations.

Occupation data are essential for labour market analysis and policy formation. Changes in the occupational composition of the labour force are important for planning at the industry and geographic area levels. The data are used in analyses of education and training needs, and as indicators for industry assistance programs. Small area data on occupation are important in regional planning; in examining the occupational mobility of ethnic and other minority groups; and in measuring socioeconomic status variability between regions.

The 2011 Census uses the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), First Edition, Revision 1 to code occupation data.

Each occupation in ANZSCO is associated with a unique 6-digit code. The first digit indicates the major group; the first two digits together, the sub-major group; the first three digits, the minor group; the first four digits together, the unit group; and all six digits, the occupation.

The following example illustrates the hierarchical structure of ANZSCO and the coding scheme:

Hierarchical Level Code Title
Major Group2Professionals
Sub-Major Group24Education Professionals
Minor Group241School Teachers
Unit group2415Special Education Teachers
Occupation241511Special Needs Teacher

Where the respondent does not provide adequate information for the response to be coded to the occupation level of the classification, the response is coded to the next highest level which is sufficiently broad to include all possibilities implied by the available information. Special 'not further defined (nfd)' codes ending in one or more zeros are used to code these responses.

Standard output for occupation data is at the 1, 2, 3 or 4-digit level of the classification. However, in some cases 6-digit level data can be made available from Information Consultancy.

See also Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), Labour force.





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