NAME OF COLLECTION
Labour Force Survey
Contact
Contact Officer
Labour Force Estimates
Australian Bureau of Statistics
PO Box 10,
BELCONNEN ACT 2601
Telephone: 02 6252 6525
Facsimile: 02 6252 7784
Email: client.services@abs.gov.au
Internet: www.abs.gov.au
Purpose
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a monthly survey which collects information about the labour force status and other characteristics of the usually resident civilian population aged 15 and over. Estimates of employment, unemployment rate and labour force participation rate are published.
LFS data are the key element of labour market and other economic information provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The principal objective is to facilitate the analysis and monitoring of social and economic aspects of the Australian labour market and working-age population. This objective is achieved by providing timely statistics of the size and characteristics of the civilian labour force gained from the LFS and associated supplementary surveys.
Description
The LFS provides a measure of the currently economically active population (i.e. the labour force). The labour force is so defined as to be conceptually equivalent to the pool of labour available for the production of economic goods and services as defined for System of National Accounts measures of economic output.
The labour force framework classifies the population into three mutually exclusive and exhaustive categories: employed, unemployed and not in the labour force.The employed and unemployed categories together make up the labour force, or the currently active population. The third category (not in the labour force) represents the population not currently economically active.
Method of collection
The survey is based on a multi-stage area sample of private dwellings and a list sample of non-private dwellings (hotels, motels, etc.), and covers about 0.5% of the population of Australia. The information is obtained from the occupants of selected dwellings by specially trained interviewers.
Data detail
Civilian population aged 15 and over by sex
Labour force status
Age (single years for persons aged 15-24 years)
Marital status
Hours worked
Average hours worked
Full-time/part-time workers
Participation rates
Attendance at school or tertiary education institution
Country of birth
Year of arrival in Australia
Duration of unemployment
Some estimates are available in original, seasonally adjusted and trend terms.
Geographic coverage
Australia and by State and Territory. Estimates are also available for a number of regions within States - there are 77 such regions across Australia. However, some estimates for regions within States may not be available due to confidentiality restrictions and the reliability of the estimates.
Frequency of data availability
Monthly.
Historical data
Available on a monthly basis from February 1978.
Products and services available
Publications
Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6203.0)
Labour Force, Australia, Preliminary (cat. no. 6202.0)
Labour Force, New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory (cat. no. 6201.1)
Labour Force, Selected Summary Tables, Australia (cat. no. 6291.0.40.001)
Labour Force, Victoria (cat. no. 6202.2)
Labour Force, Queensland (cat. no. 6201.3)
Other products and services
Special data services is available upon request
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