The Survey of Education and Work (SEW) is conducted throughout Australia in May as a supplement to the monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS).
The SEW provides annual information on a range of key indicators of educational participation and attainment of people aged 15-74 years, along with data on their engagement in education and work.
The annual time series allows for ongoing monitoring of the level of education of Australia's population including:
- current and previous study;
- type of educational institution attended;
- highest year of school completed;
- level and field of highest non-school qualification;
- engagement in education and work; and
- selected characteristics of apprentices and trainees.
The publication Labour Force, Australia contains information about survey design, sample redesign, scope, coverage and population benchmarks relevant to the monthly LFS, which also apply to supplementary surveys such as the SEW. It also contains definitions of demographic and labour force characteristics.
Concepts, sources, and methods
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, Feb 2018.
In July 2014, the LFS survey questionnaire underwent a number of developments. For further information see Labour Force, Australia methodology, May 2021.