6202.0 - Labour Force, Australia, Dec 2004  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 13/01/2005   
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DECEMBER KEY FIGURES

Nov 2004
Dec 2004
Nov 04 to Dec 04
Dec 03 to Dec 04
Trend
Employed persons ('000)
9,784.0
9,810.5
26.5
2.6
%
Unemployed persons ('000)
541.5
531.8
-9.6
-9.0
%
Unemployment rate (%)
5.2
5.1
-0.1
pts
-0.6
pts
Participation rate (%)
63.7
63.8
0.0
pts
0.3
pts
Seasonally Adjusted
Employed persons ('000)
9,793.4
9,822.4
29.0
2.7
%
Unemployed persons ('000)
535.9
526.9
-9.0
-10.2
%
Unemployment rate (%)
5.2
5.1
-0.1
pts
-0.7
pts
Participation rate (%)
63.7
63.8
0.1
pts
0.3
pts

Employed Persons
Graph: Employed Persons

Unemployment rate
Graph: Unemployment rate



DECEMBER KEY POINTS


TREND ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

  • EMPLOYMENT increased to 9,810,500
  • UNEMPLOYMENT decreased to 531,800
  • UNEMPLOYMENT RATE decreased to 5.1%
  • PARTICIPATION RATE increased to 63.8%


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

EMPLOYMENT
  • increased by 29,000 to 9,822,400. Full-time employment decreased by 5,800 to 7,004,100 while part-time employment increased by 34,800 to 2,818,300.

UNEMPLOYMENT
  • decreased by 9,000 to 526,900. The number of persons looking for full-time work decreased slightly to 377,400 and the number of persons looking for part-time work decreased by 8,700 to 149,500.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
  • decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 5.1%. Both the male and female unemployment rates decreased by 0.1 percentage point, to 5.0% and 5.2% respectively.

PARTICIPATION RATE
  • increased by 0.1 percentage point to 63.8%.


NOTES

ROUNDING

Estimates of monthly change shown on the front cover have been calculated using unrounded estimates, and may be different from, but are more accurate than, movements obtained from the rounded estimates. The graphs on the front cover also depict unrounded estimates.



SAMPLING ERRORS

The estimates in this publication are based on a sample survey. Because the entire population is not enumerated, the published estimates and the movements derived from them are subject to sampling variability. Standard errors give a measure of this variability and appear on pages 27 and 28.


The 95% confidence intervals below provide another way of looking at the variability inherent in estimates from sample surveys. The interval bounded by the two limits is the 95% confidence interval. A 95% confidence interval has a 95% chance of including the true value of the estimate.

Movements in seasonally adjusted series between November and December 2004
Monthly change
95% Confidence interval
Total Employment
29,000
-8,400
to
66,400
Total Unemployment
-9,000
-22,200
to
4,200
Unemployment rate
-0.1 pts
-0.3 pts
to
0.1 pts
Participation rate
0.1 pts
-0.1 pts
to
0.3 pts


INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Erika Maxim on Canberra (02) 6252 6525.



PRINCIPAL LABOUR FORCE SERIES TREND ESTIMATES


EMPLOYED PERSONS

The trend estimate of employed persons generally rose from 8,084,700 in December 1994 to 9,055,400 in September 2000. The trend then fell slightly to 9,033,100 in January 2001, before rising to 9,462,900 in March 2003. The trend then fell for three months before rising to stand at 9,810,500 in December 2004.

Graph: Employed Persons (Trend)



UNEMPLOYED PERSONS

The trend estimate of unemployed persons rose from 728,100 in July 1995 to 771,800 in February 1997. The trend then fell to 583,400 in September 2000, before rising to 685,000 in October 2001. The trend has since generally fallen to stand at 531,800 in December 2004.

Graph: Unemployed Persons (Trend)



UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

The trend unemployment rate rose slowly from 8.1% in July 1995 to 8.4% in February 1997. After falling to 6.1% in September 2000, the trend then rose to 7.0% in October 2001. The trend has since generally fallen to stand at 5.1% in December 2004.

Graph: Unemployment Rate (Trend)



UNEMPLOYED PERSONS TREND ESTIMATES


UNEMPLOYED MALES


TOTAL

The trend estimate of unemployed males remained relatively flat for the two years up to March 1997, before generally falling to 341,900 in August 2000. The trend then rose to 394,200 in October 2001, before generally falling to stand at 291,700 in December 2004.

Graph: Unemployed males (Trend)



MALES LOOKING FOR FULL-TIME WORK

The trend estimate of unemployed males looking for full-time work remained relatively flat from mid 1995 to mid 1997, before falling to 288,000 in June 2000. The trend estimate then rose to 330,000 in October 2001, before generally falling to stand at 230,100 in December 2004.

Graph: Unemployed males looking for full-time work (trend)



MALES LOOKING FOR PART-TIME WORK

Although fluctuating, the trend estimate of unemployed males looking for part-time work has increased strongly during the past decade. From a low of 45,400 in January 1996, the trend rose to 66,200 in November 2002. The trend estimate then declined to 55,700 in October 2003, before rising to stand at 61,600 in December 2004.

Graph: Unemployed males looking for part-time work (trend)



UNEMPLOYED FEMALES


TOTAL

From a high of 321,400 in January 1997, the trend estimate of unemployed females fell steadily to 240,000 in September 2000. The trend then rose to 291,100 in November 2001, before generally decreasing to stand at 240,100 in December 2004.

Graph: Unemployed females (trend)



FEMALES LOOKING FOR FULL-TIME WORK

The trend estimate of unemployed females looking for full-time work fell from a peak of 223,700 in February 1997 to 152,500 in September 2000. The trend estimate then rose to 188,000 in October 2001, before falling to 171,300 in October 2002. After rising for the next 6 months, the trend has since fallen to stand at 145,600 in December 2004.

Graph: Unemployed females looking for full-time work (trend)



FEMALES LOOKING FOR PART-TIME WORK

The trend estimate of unemployed females looking for part-time work has fluctuated over the last 10 years, rising from a low of 82,300 in July 1995 to a high of 109,800 in April 2001. The trend estimate currently stands at 94,500 in December 2004.

Graph: Unemployed females looking for part-time work (trend)