STATISTICS NEWS NSW

A Picture of a Nation: Statistician's Report on the 2006 Census
NSW Population hits 7 million: Release of the latest ERP
Household Preparedness for Emergencies: Results of the 2007 State Supplementary Survey
A New Look for Some Familiar Faces: Changes to Australian Social Trends and Measuring Australia's Progress
National Regional Profile: An Update
ABS NSW Office: What we can do for you


A PICTURE OF A NATION: STATISTICIAN'S REPORT ON THE 2006 CENSUS

Each successive generation is more likely to live in a city and to hold a university qualification, but less likely to report religious beliefs, according to A Picture of the Nation: The Statistician’s Report on the 2006 Census, released by the ABS on 29 January 2009.

A Picture of the Nation provides a rich source of stories on our changing Australian society. 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.

Some of the findings detailed in A Picture of the Nation include:

• At the 1911 Census, 42% of the population were living in rural areas. By 2006, only 12% of Australians were located in rural areas, while just over three quarters (77%) were in towns and cities within 50 km of the coast.
• Women have closed the gap in university qualifications - in 2006, more women than men in Generation X and Y held a Bachelor degree or higher (28% compared with 21%).
• In 2006, more than three quarters of the Lucky Generation* were affiliated with a Christian denomination, compared with just over one half of Generation X and Y.
• Between 2001 and 2006, 43% of people aged 5 years and over in Australia had changed their location.
• Between 1986 to 2006 the number of people working part-time more than doubled, from 1.2 million to 2.7 million.
• More than half the people who cared for children who were not their own were aged 50 and over; many of these were caring for their grandchildren.

More details can be found in A Picture of the Nation (cat. no. 2070.0).

_{*Born between 1926 and 1946, just prior to and during the Great Depression and World War II, they are referred to as the Lucky Generation because they generally perceive that they had an easier time than their parents.}
NSW POPULATION HITS 7 MILLION: RELEASE OF THE LATEST ERP

The preliminary estimated resident population (ERP) of New South Wales at 30 September 2008 was 7,017,100 persons. This was an increase of 92,300 persons (1.3%) since 30 September 2007 and the first time NSW's population has been estimated to be over 7m.

For the full story, see the latest release of Australian Demographic Statistics (cat. no. 3101.0)


HOUSEHOLD PREPAREDNESS FOR EMERGENCIES: RESULTS OF THE 2007 STATE SUPPLEMENTARY SURVEY

An article How well prepared are Australian Communities for natural disasters and fire emergencies? was published in the February 2009 issue of the Australian Journal of Emergency Management. The article draws upon the 2007 State Supplementary Survey publications Household Preparedness for Emergencies: NSW, Vic., Qld and ACT, Oct 2007 (cat. no. 4818.0.55.001) and Community Preparedness for Emergencies, Oct 2007 (cat. no. 4818.5). The results from these ABS surveys on household and community preparedness for emergencies are presented within the context of published research into factors that influence preparedness.

The results from the 2008 State Supplementary Survey are due for release on Tuesday 19th May 2009. The topic this year is Household and Workplace Mobility, and Implications for Travel, NSW and Victoria. The survey aims to measure how often, and the reasons why, people change residential and workplace locations. It will also measure the implications of these changes on distance and methods of travel to work.


A NEW LOOK FOR SOME FAMILIAR FACES: CHANGES TO AUSTRALIAN SOCIAL TRENDS AND MEASURING AUSTRALIA'S PROGRESS

AST: Australian Social Trends (cat. no. 4102.0) is now quarterly. The March quarter edition was released on Wednesday 25 March and includes 8 articles: trends in population, couples in Australia, mental health, trends in household work, retirement and retirement intentions, household debt, trends in superannuation coverage and household use of renewable energy.

MAP: Measures of Australia's Progress, Summary Indicators, 2009 (cat. no. 1383.0.55.001) will be released electronically on Thursday 30 April. This release presents an annual update to headline indicators covering society, the economy and the environment. It will provide information on the conceptual framework for MAP as well as links to feature articles from past editions. MAP now includes spreadsheets of the national headline indicators at state and territory level.


NATIONAL REGIONAL PROFILE: AN UPDATE

If you are looking for information about the social and economic make-up of your local area, then the updated National Regional Profile may be just what you need. The National Regional Profile (NRP) is a snapshot of data for small areas, including Local Government Areas, Statistical Local Areas, and Statistical Divisions, and currently contains data for the years 2002 to 2006. This release of the NRP contains new data and extra features to help you find the regions and data you need, including how to find more recent data. For further information about the new features of the NRP and examples of how to explore your region, including creating graphs and tables, see the article in the December issue of 'What's New in Regional Statistics' (cat. no. 1386.0).

To find a snapshot of your local area simply select the National Regional Profile link on the left hand side of the ABS website Home Page and look for further links to 'Select a Local Government Area' or 'Select a Statistical Local Area'.


ABS NSW OFFICE: WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOU

Free Information and Training

Many policy makers, researchers and marketers are not aware of the amazing amount of data that you can get for free from the ABS 2006 Census of Population and Housing.

We are offering free online information sessions in the use of our powerful Census data and tools. Please contact us if you would like to find out more about the type of Census data available and how you can use it to increase understanding about your clients, customers, or stakeholders, including geographic areas of interest.

For more information about free 2006 Census training please contact Amanda Biltoft, National Account Manager ABS on (02) 9268 4642 or email client.services@abs.gov.au.


Conditions apply

Information sessions covering existing online data are available only in NSW for groups of 5 and over, for a minimum duration of 30 minutes and maximum of 2 hours.

See the ABS training calendar for information on other statistical training available from the ABS.