LATEST STATISTICS


Northern Territory Summary Statistics ~ NT Keeps Cool ~ A Picture of a Nation ~ Broadband Internet Connections ~ Publication Release Dates

Northern Territory Summary Statistics

Catalogue Number	Selected Data	Units	Northern Territory	Australia
3101.0	Estimated Resident Population (Preliminary, Sept 2008)	'000	221.1	21,542.5
6202.0	Total Employed (Trend, Feb 2009)	'000	116.6	10,811.7
6202.0	Total Unemployed (Trend, Feb 2009)	'000	4.7	561.1
6202.0	Unemployment Rate (Trend, Feb 2009)	%	3.9	4.9
6202.0	Unemployment Rate (Trend, Jan 2009)	%	3.9	4.8
6202.0	Civilian population aged 15+ years (Original, Feb 2009)	'000	164.8	17,407.7
8731.0	Total Dwelling Units approved , % change from previous month (Trend, Jan 2009)	%	1.5	-4.3
8731.0	Total Dwelling Units approved, % change from previous month (Trend, Dec 2008)	%	0.5	-5.0
6401.0	Consumer Price Index (CPI) % change Dec Quarter 2007 to Dec Quarter 2008	%	3.7(a)	3.7(b)
6401.0	Consumer Price Index (CPI) % change Sep Quarter 2008 to Dec Quarter 2008	%	-0.4(a)	-0.3(b)
(a) Darwin. (b) Weighted average of eight capital cities.

For further statistics about the NT see Regional Statistics Northern Territory, 2008 (cat. no. 1362.7).

NT Keeps Cool

With environmental concerns (and temperatures) on the rise it is interesting to see how Territorians use energy compared to the rest of Australia.

In 2008, 93% of households in the Northern Territory had air-conditioning, with more than a third (35%) of Territory households using their air-conditioning for 6 months or more in a year. Comparatively, 66% of Australian households had air-conditioning with less than 5% using air-conditioning for 6 months or more in a year.

There were fewer Northern Territory households with heaters (14%) compared to Australian households (77%) in southern states - Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory (more than 90%). Between 2005 and 2008, the duration of use of heaters decreased for Australia as a whole, with the '6 months or more' category falling from 13% of households in 2005 to 7% in 2008.

The Northern Territory had the highest proportion of households (44%) with two or more refrigerators in use, followed by Queensland (42%) and Western Australia (41%). In Australia 34% of dwellings had two or more refrigerators in use.

More than half of the households in the Northern Territory (54%) used solar energy to heat water in 2008, an increase from 2005 (42%). Solar energy was used by 7% of Australian households for heating water in 2008. This was a 61% increase from 2005 when 4% of households used solar energy for hot water systems. Households in all states and territories had a noticeable increase in the use of solar for water heating between 2005 and 2008.

In 2008, more than half of dwellings (58%) in Australia used fluorescent lights or other energy saving lights (59%) in at least one room. In the Northern Territory, fluorescent lights were used in 82% of dwellings and in Queensland, 72% of dwellings.

For more information on energy use for the Northern Territory (and Australia) see Environmental Issues: Energy Use and Conservation, Mar 2008 (cat. no. 4602.0.55.001).

A Picture of a Nation: the Statistician's Report on the 2006 Census

With the January 2009 release, by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), of A Picture of a Nation came a rich source of stories on Australian society and how it has changed over time. Organised into eight chapters: population; cultural diversity; living arrangements; community; education; work; economic resources; and housing, this publication draws on a range of data from the 2006 Census and historical censuses. It also provides an in-depth analysis of population Census data, complementing the extensive range of other Census products already available free from the ABS website.

The publication presents the following findings for the Northern Territory (NT):

• The average annual population growth between 1981 and 2006 for the NT was 2.2%, higher than the national average for the same period (1.3%).
• Regional patterns of labour force participation for men changed over the 20 year period with the Barkly region experiencing one of the largest declines in labour force participation for men: 60% in 2006 down from 79% in 1986. Most men living in the Barkly region work in the cattle farming industry, so this decline may be partly explained by a national decrease in the number of people employed in cattle farming during the 1996-2006 period.
• The NT had the third highest growth in the number of private dwellings over the past twenty years (60%), following Queensland (74%) and Western Australia (63%). These increases have been driven by high rates of population growth, although the NT has increased from a relatively low number of private dwellings in 1986.
• In 2006, the NT had the highest proportion of students attending government schools (74%), while the Australian Capital Territory had the lowest (59%).
• Of all men and women living in the NT, 9% of men and 16% of women provided informal child care in 2006. In rural areas of the NT, these proportions were higher, 13% of men and 23% of women. In most other states and territories the proportion was between 6-7% for men and 11-13% for women.

For more stories about how the Northern Territory and Australia has changed over time view A Picture of the Nation: the Statistician's Report on the 2006 Census, 2006 (cat. no. 2070.0). Hard copy editions of the publication are also available, please refer to the ABS website for further information.

Broadband Internet Connections

According to Household Use of Information Technology, Australia, 2007-08 (cat. no. 8146.0), 55% of Northern Territory households (excluding very remote areas) had a Broadband Internet connection at June 30 2008. This was above the national average of 52%. Broadband connections were present in 4.3 million Australian households. To create further perspective, the Australian Capital Territory had the highest proportion of households with Broadband Internet connection (68%) while Tasmania (39%) and South Australia (42%) recorded the lowest proportion of all households.



Upcoming Releases

The following are selected ABS releases in April, May and June of relevance and interest to the Northern Territory. For a full list of releases please refer to the Product Releases section on the home page of the ABS website.

Release Date	Publication Title	Catalogue Number
General
28 May	Northern Territory at a Glance 2009	1304.7
22 June	Education and Training Matters June 2009	4211.0
22 June	Environment and Energy News June 2009	4653.0
24 June	What's New in Regional Statistics June 2009	1386.0
Economic
1 April	Retail Trade Australia February 2009	8501.0
1 April	Building Approvals Australia February 2009	8731.0
9 April	Labour Force Australia March 2009	6202.0
22 April	Consumer Price Index Australia March 2009 (Quarterly)	6401.0
5 May	Building Approvals Australia March 2009	8731.0
6 May	Retail Trade, Australia March 2009	8501.0
7 May	Labour Force Australia April 2009	6202.0
29 May	Australian Economic Indicators June 2009	1350.0
1 June	Retail Trade Australia April 2009	8501.0
2 June	Building Approvals Australia April 2009	8731.0
3 June	Australian National Accounts: National Income Expenditure and Product March 2009	5206.0
11 June	Labour Force Australia May 2009	6202.0
Social
11 May	National Health Survey: Summary of Results: State Tables 2007-08	4362.0
28 May	Recorded Crime - Victims Australia 2008	4510.0
2 June	Statistical Framework for Family and Domestic Violence 2008	Advanced Subscription 4529.0
23 June	Australian Social Trends 2009	4102.0
Demographic
23 April	Regional Population Growth Australia 2007-08	3218.0
25 May	Demography News May 2009	3106.0
4 June	Australian Demographic Statistics December 2008	3101.0
Census
2 April	Census of Population and Housing: Australia's Children and Youth 2006	Advanced Subscription 2059.0.55.001

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