Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods
A comprehensive description of the concepts and definitions underpinning labour statistics and the data sources and methods used to compile them.
Guide to labour statistics
See our Guide to labour statistics for summary information on labour market topics. It complements the detailed information in Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods by providing practical guidance on labour measures, their purpose and how to use them.
Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods provides a comprehensive account of the concepts and definitions underpinning Australian labour statistics, and the data sources and methods used to compile them.
Labour statistics are some of Australia’s key economic statistics. Labour is the aggregate of all human physical and mental effort used in the creation of goods and services.
Labour statistics are about people, their participation in work, their success in finding employment, their earnings and other benefits, their type of work, their working hours and conditions. Labour statistics provide insight into the economy and the effects of labour market policy settings, through measures related to the demand for labour (employment, job vacancies); to its supply (employment, hours worked, unemployment, underemployment); and to its price (wages and labour costs).