Victorian payroll jobs fall 2.1% into early June
Payroll jobs fell by 0.9 per cent nationally in the fortnight to 5 June 2021, following a 0.4 per cent rise in the previous fortnight, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.
Bjorn Jarvis, head of Labour Statistics at the ABS, said: “The latest fortnight of data partly overlapped with the first nine days of the lockdown in Victoria. Payroll jobs in the state fell by 2.1 per cent over the fortnight.
“Almost every industry in Victoria saw a fall in payroll jobs during this period, with the largest falls seen in the Accommodation and food services, and Arts and recreation services industries (down 10.2 per cent and 8.0 per cent).
“Each lockdown sees falls in Accommodation and food services payroll jobs, reflecting the impact that restrictions have on this industry.
“While the fall in payroll jobs is generally greatest in the state or territory of the lockdown, restrictions that affect interstate travel may also contribute to falls in payroll jobs in the Accommodation and food services industry in other states and territories. Payroll jobs in the industry fell in almost every state and territory across the fortnight.”
The Northern Territory was the only state or territory with an increase (up 0.3 per cent) in payroll jobs in the industry over the fortnight, and the only state or territory where payroll jobs in the industry were above pre-pandemic levels.
Media notes
Payroll jobs are not seasonally adjusted, which generally require at least three years of data. The seasonal changes accounted for in the longstanding Labour Force statistics series should be considered when interpreting recovery in employment statistics through the COVID period.
In each release, as more complete data are received, payroll jobs and wages estimates are revised. Fortnightly releases coinciding with the start of month involve higher rates of imputation for payroll jobs with monthly pay frequencies. This can contribute to greater revisions in subsequent releases. Industries with higher proportions of monthly pay frequencies, such as Mining, are particularly affected.
While the ABS accounts for employees being paid with different frequencies, there are points in the year when additional reporting activity is more likely to occur, which may flow through to published estimates.
This release will be changing to a monthly release frequency in August. For more information on the planned changes, see Upcoming changes to this release.
- When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
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