LABOUR FORCE CHARACTERISTICS

It is important to distinguish between labour force data collected in the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (AATSIHS), and the monthly labour force statistics that are released by the ABS. The monthly Labour Force Survey is Australia's official measure of unemployment, with data collected monthly (over an eight month period) from a sample of the civilian population aged 15 years and over. The AATSIHS collected labour force information at a point in time from a sample of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population aged 15 years and over.

RESULTS FROM 2012–13

Participation in the labour force

People who are either employed or unemployed are considered to be participating in the labour force.

In 2012–13, three in five (60%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–64 years were participating in the labour force.

Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were the least likely to be participating in the labour force (43% of those aged 55–64 years), with participation rates highest for people aged 35–44 years (69%).

A higher proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males than females were participating in the labour force in 2012–13 (68% compared with 53%). Participation rates for males were at least 10 percentage points higher than the equivalent rates for females in all age groups from 15–54 years, while among those aged 55–64 years the difference in labour force participation rates was not statistically significant.

In 2012–13, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in non-remote areas were more likely than those in remote areas to be working or actively looking for work (61% compared with 55%). This pattern was evident for both males (69% compared with 64%) and females (54% compared with 47%).

Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–64 years, labour force participation rates were higher than the national average in the ACT (75% compared with 60%) and Queensland (65% compared with 60%). This was true for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males and females in these jurisdictions. The male labour force participation rates for the ACT and Queensland were 79% and 73% respectively, compared with a national participation rate of 68%. For females, the corresponding rates were 70% for the ACT, 58% for Queensland and 53% nationally. The overall labour force participation rate among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the NT (55%) was significantly lower than the national average (60%).
Employment to population ratios

In 2012–13, just under half (48%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–64 years were employed; 30% in full-time work and 18% in part-time work.

Employment to population ratios varied by age, with the lowest ratios for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–24 years and 55–64 years (39% and 40% respectively), and the highest ratio for those aged 35–44 years (59%).

In 2012–13, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males were more likely than females to be employed (53% compared with 42%), and were twice as likely to be in full-time work (40% compared with 20%).



In 2012–13, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in non-remote areas were more likely than those in remote areas to be working (49% compared with 44%). This pattern was evident for both males (54% compared with 50%) and females (44% compared with 38%). However for males, the difference between employment to population ratios was not statistically significant.


Full-time employment was more prevalent among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in non-remote areas (31%) than in remote areas (25%); mainly due to significant differences in the full-time and part-time employment to population ratios for males, by remoteness. The proportion of males who were employed full-time was significantly higher in non-remote areas than in remote areas (42% compared with 32%), while the part-time employment to population ratio for males was higher in remote areas than in non-remote areas (18% compared with 12%).

The employment to population ratio for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT was higher than the national average (70% compared with 48%) in 2012–13. This was true for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males (74% compared with 53%) and females (65% compared with 42%).

Unemployment rates

The unemployment rate is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed people by the number of people participating in the labour force. In 2012–13, the overall unemployment rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–64 years was 21%.

Unemployment rates were highest for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (31% of those aged 15–24 years) and lowest for those aged 55–64 years (8%). For both males and females, unemployment rates followed the same pattern, getting progressively lower for each subsequent age group. There were no statistically significant differences between the unemployment rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males and females within age groups.

In 2012–13, the unemployment rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in non-remote and remote areas were similar (21% compared with 20%). This was true for males (22% for both) and females (20% in non-remote areas compared with 18% in remote areas).

The unemployment rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT was considerably lower than the national average (7% compared with 21%) in 2012–13.

HOW DO THESE RATES COMPARE WITH THE RATES FOR NON-INDIGENOUS PEOPLE?

After adjusting for differences in the age structure of the two populations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–64 years were less likely than non-Indigenous people to be participating in the labour force (rate ratio of 0.7) and were around half as likely to be employed (rate ratio of 0.6).

Unemployment rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were three to seven times as high as the comparable rates for non-Indigenous people.


After adjusting for differences in the age structure of the two populations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–64 years were around four times as likely as non-Indigenous people to be unemployed (rate ratio of 4.2).