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CHAPTER 21.5. LABOUR FORCE EXPERIENCE

INTRODUCTION

21.5.1 The Labour Force Experience Survey collects a range of data about the labour force experiences of people aged 15 years and over during the 12 months prior to the survey date. The survey provides information on time spent in labour force activities, including episodes of working or looking for work, and time spent out of the labour force. The survey was first conducted in 1969, and was conducted on a two-yearly basis between February 1995 and February 2011. The ABS does not plan to conduct this survey again.

21.5.2 Estimates from the survey are used to monitor the extent and nature of labour force participation over an extended period and to complement 'gross flows' estimates from the monthly Labour Force Survey (see Chapter 20 for information on gross flows) in the analysis of labour market dynamics. The information is used to construct profiles of various groups within the labour force, particularly those looking for work.

21.5.3 Labour force activity over a 12-month period was determined from a reduced set of questions compared to those used in the monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS). For this reason, the terms worked and looked for work are used, rather than the more precisely defined terms employed and unemployed, as used in the LFS. The concepts worked and looked for work are then used to determine whether a person was in the labour force during the year.

21.5.4 This section describes only those aspects of the methodology that are unique to this survey and should be used in conjunction with Chapter 21, which outlines the survey methodology used in supplementary surveys.


SURVEY OUTPUT

21.5.5 Data from the survey are published in Labour Force Experience, Australia cat. no. 6206.0. The ABS has a range of data available on request from the Labour Force Experience Survey.

21.5.6 Estimates are produced on an original basis only (i.e. are not seasonally adjusted) and include:

Socio-demographic information

Sex; age; marital status; relationship in household; state or territory of usual residence (including whether a capital city); country of birth; and period of arrival in Australia.

All persons

Labour force status (at survey date and during the year); time in the labour force during the year; whether worked at some time during the year; whether looked for work at some time during the year.

Persons who were employed at some time during the year

Status in employment; occupation; industry; time worked during the year; full-time or part-time status of time worked; number of employers/businesses during the year; time worked with current employer/business; and whether had an unpaid absence from work during the year.

Persons who looked for work at some time during the year

Time spent looking for work during the year (including Mean and Median duration); and number of spells of looking for work during the year

Persons who were not in the labour force at some time during the year

Time not in the labour force during the year; and main activity when not in the labour force.

1969
Initial survey conducted (February) - preliminary data in Labour Force Experience, Preliminary (Ref. no 6.38) (footnote 1) and final data in Labour Force Experience (Ref. no 6.26).
Survey reference period - preceding calendar year.
Sample size restricted to three-quarters of the Labour Force Survey sample.

1973
Survey conducted (February).

1975
Annual collection commenced (February).

1978
Survey not conducted (this year only).

1979
Catalogue numbers replaced reference numbers - cat. no. 6205.0 (preliminary data) and cat. no. 6206.0 (final data).

1981
Change to survey reference period - beginning of February in previous year to the end of the reference week.

1982
Change to the classification of some persons (this year only) - persons who reported that they had been in their current job for one year and also reported that they did not work for the entire reference period were not classified as 'not in the labour force' for the remainder of the period (as they were in other years).

1983
Change to survey reference period - 52 weeks to the end of the week prior to interview.

1988
Preliminary publication discontinued.

1989
Sample size reduced to one-half of the Labour Force Survey sample.

1990
Change to survey month (March).
Persons aged 70 and over excluded from scope of the survey.
Sample size increased to full Labour Force Survey sample.

1995
Annual collection ceased - replaced by biennial collection (February).
Sample restricted to no more than seven-eighths of the Labour Force Survey sample.
Standard Data Service replaced publication format (cat. no. changed to 6206.0.40.001).

1997
Publication format replaced Standard Data Service (cat. no. changed to 6206.0).
Persons living in remote and sparsely settled areas excluded from scope.

2003
The data item 'number of employers/businesses during the year' was derived differently from previous surveys. Prior to 2003, where they could be identified, multiple jobs of multiple job-holders were excluded from this data item. From 2003, all employers/businesses held by all persons were included.

2005
Data items related to educational attainment and state/territory of usual residence 12 months ago no longer available.

2007
Scope of the survey expanded to include all persons aged 15 years and over, where it previously excluded those over 69.

2009
Changes were made to the categories for the data item 'Main activity when not in the Labour Force' with the category 'Home duties or child care' split into two separate categories: 'Home duties' and 'caring for children'. The categories 'Own illness or injury' and 'own disability or handicap' were replaced by 'own short-term illness or injury' and 'own long-term health condition or disability' respectively.
The sample for the Labour Force Experience Survey was approximately one-third smaller than the sample size in February 2007, as a result of reductions in the Labour Force Survey sample size.