EXPLANATORY NOTES


INTRODUCTION

1 The statistics in this publication were compiled from data collected in the Labour Mobility Survey, conducted throughout Australia in February 2013 as a supplement to the monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS). Respondents to the LFS who fell within the scope of the supplementary survey were asked further questions.

2 Information about survey design, scope, coverage and population benchmarks relevant to the monthly LFS, which also applies to supplementary surveys, can be found in the publication Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0).


CONCEPTS, SOURCES AND METHODS

3 The conceptual framework used in Australia's LFS aligns closely with the standards and guidelines set out in Resolutions of the International Conference of Labour Statisticians. Descriptions of the underlying concepts and structure of Australia's labour force statistics, and the sources and methods used in compiling these estimates, are presented in Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 6102.0.55.001).


SCOPE

4 The scope of the LFS is restricted to persons aged 15 years and over and excludes the following people:

• members of the permanent defence forces;
• certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments, customarily excluded from the Census and estimated population counts;
• overseas residents in Australia; and
• members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependants).

5 Students at boarding schools, patients in hospitals, residents of homes (e.g. retirement homes, homes for people with disabilities), and inmates of prisons are excluded from all supplementary surveys.

6 This supplementary survey was conducted in both urban and rural areas in all states and territories, but excluded persons living in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in very remote parts of Australia.

7 In addition, visitors to private dwellings and people who last worked more than one year ago are excluded from the estimates.


COVERAGE

8 The estimates in this publication are based on persons covered by the survey in February 2013. In the LFS, coverage rules are applied which aim to ensure that each person is associated with only one dwelling, and hence has only one chance of selection in the survey. See Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) for more details.


SAMPLE SIZE

9 Supplementary surveys are not always conducted on the full LFS sample. Since August 1994 the sample for supplementary surveys has been restricted to no more than seven-eighths of the LFS sample.

10 The February 2013 Labour Mobility Survey was collected from six-eighths of the LFS sample. In December 2012, the ABS commenced a trial of on-line electronic data collection. Respondents in one LFS rotation group (i.e. one-eighth of the survey sample) were offered the option of completing their labour force survey questionnaire on-line instead of a face-to-face or telephone interview. This group was not offered the Labour Mobility Survey. For more information on the trial of on-line electronic data collection see the Explanatory Notes in Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) and the article in the April 2013 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0). As a result of the smaller sample, the standard errors for the February 2013 Labour Mobility Survey will be greater than for previous cycles. See the Technical Note for the standard errors.

11 The sample for Labour Mobility is a subsample of 37,003 private dwelling households and special dwelling units included in the ABS monthly LFS in February 2013. The final sample on which estimates are based is composed of 27,642 people who were aged 15 years and over who had worked at some time during the year ending February 2013.


RELIABILITY OF THE ESTIMATES

12 Estimates in this publication are subject to sampling and non-sampling errors:

• Sampling error is the difference between the published estimate and the value that would have been produced if all dwellings had been included in the survey. For more information see the Technical Note.
• Non-sampling errors are inaccuracies that occur because of imperfections in reporting by respondents and interviewers, and errors made in coding and processing data. These inaccuracies may occur in any enumeration, whether it be a full count or a sample. Every effort is made to reduce the non-sampling error to a minimum by careful design of questionnaires, intensive training and supervision of interviewers and effective processing procedures.

SEASONAL FACTORS

13 The estimates are based on information collected in the survey month (February) and, due to seasonal factors, may not be representative of other months of the year.


CLASSIFICATIONS USED

14 Country of birth data are classified according to the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC), Second Edition (cat. no. 1269.0).

15 Occupation data are classified according to the ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, First Edition, Revision 1, 2009 (cat. no. 1220.0).

16 Industry data are classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (Revision 1.0) (cat. no. 1292.0).

17 Educational attainment data are classified according to Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED) (cat. no. 1272.0). See Appendix 2 for further information.


COMPARABILITY OF TIME SERIES

18 The Labour Force Survey estimates, and estimates from the supplementary surveys, are calculated in such a way as to sum to independent estimates of the civilian population aged 15 years and over (population benchmarks). These population benchmarks are based on Estimated Resident Population (ERP) data. Generally, revisions are made to population benchmarks for the LFS following the final rebasing of population estimates to the latest five-yearly Census of Population and Housing, or when the need arises.

19 From February 2009 Labour Force Estimates have been compiled using population benchmarks based on the 2006 Census of Population and Housing. Revisions were applied to the LFS population benchmarks in the July 2010, November 2012 and April 2013 issues to take into account the latest available population estimates. The latest revision presented in the April 2013 issue is reflected in the estimates presented in this publication.

20 Changes to the LFS population benchmarks impact primarily on the magnitude of the Labour Force Survey estimates (i.e. employment and unemployment) that are directly related to the underlying size of the population. For more details on population benchmarks, see the Explanatory Notes in Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0), and for details about the revisions made, see the article in the April 2013 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) and the article in the November 2012 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0). These revisions have not been applied to previous Labour Mobility Surveys.

21 The scope of the Labour Mobility Survey was expanded from February 2006 to include all people aged 15 years and over.

22 In 2008, the introduction of ANZSCO First Edition and ANZSIC 2006 meant that data relating to change in occupation and industry are not comparable with previous years. Users need to exercise care when comparing these estimates with publications prior to February 2008.

23 From 2008 onwards, the previous data item 23, 'Whether changed occupation group (with current employer for one year or more)' has been derived and output based on change at Major and Minor occupation levels. In previous years, this was derived and output based on change at any level. The following table compares estimates for data items 23a and 23b with how data item 23 was derived in 2006.

Employees (excluding OMIEs) who had been with their current employer for one year or more, Whether changed occupation group - comparison of 2008 and 2006 methods
		2008 data item 23A Major level	2008 data item 23B Minor level	2008 using the 2006 method (any level)
		'000	'000	'000
Whether changed occupation group (with current employer for one year or more)
	Same occupation	6 174.8	6 102.7	5 990.1
	Changed occupation	182.2	254.3	366.9
	Total	6 357.1	6 357.1	6 357.1

24 Prior to 2008, other data items relating to change in occupation and change in industry were only derived and output based on change in Major occupation group and change in industry Division. From 2008 onwards, data items are available for change in Major occupation group, change in Minor occupation group, change in industry Division and change in industry Subdivision.

25 From 2009, the survey included people in very remote areas of Australia except for people living in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in very remote parts of Australia.


COMPARABILITY WITH MONTHLY LFS STATISTICS

26 Due to differences in the scope and sample size of this supplementary survey and that of the monthly LFS, the estimation procedure may lead to some small variations between labour force estimates from this survey and those from the LFS.


PREVIOUS SURVEYS

27 Similar surveys were conducted in November 1972, February 1975, February 1976, annually from February 1979 to February 1992 and biennially from February 1994 to February 2012. Given the delay in implementing changes to the labour household survey program, the Labour Mobility Survey was run again in February 2013.


REVISIONS TO HISTORICAL DATA

28 Historical estimates of the number and proportion of people who were mobile in the labour market for the periods 1990 to 1996 were revised in the 1998 publication. Previously published estimates for reference periods from 1990 to 1996 will still contain incorrectly derived data. If you require further information about these revisions, please contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or the Labour Market Section on (02) 6252 7206.

29 Data from the 2010 and 2012 Labour Mobility Surveys have been revised after the weighting has been updated for these surveys. See Appendix 1 for details of the changes.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

30 ABS publications draw extensively on information provided freely by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated: without it, the wide range of statistics published by the ABS would not be available. Information received by the ABS is treated in strict confidence as required by the Census and Statistics Act 1905.


PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Spreadsheets

31 Tables contained in the publication are released in spreadsheet format. These tables are made available with the publication from the ABS website.


RELATED PUBLICATIONS

32 Other publications which may be of interest include:

• Australian Labour Market Statistics (cat. no. 6105.0);
• Education and Work, Australia (cat. no 6227.0);
• Job Search Experience, Australia (cat. no. 6222.0);
• Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0);
• Labour Force Experience, Australia (cat. no. 6206.0);
• Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 6102.0.55.001);
• Microdata: Longitudinal Labour Force, Australia, 2008-2010 (cat. no. 6602.0);
• Persons Not in the Labour Force, Australia (cat. no 6220.0);
• Retirement and Retirement Intentions, Australia (cat. no. 6238.0); and
• Underemployed Workers, Australia (cat. no. 6265.0).

33 Current publications and other products released by the ABS are available from the Statistics Page on the ABS website. The ABS also issues a daily Release Advice on the website which details products to be released in the week ahead.