Active steps taken to find work
Active steps taken by unemployed persons in their search for work during the current period of unemployment include:
- wrote, phoned or applied in person to an employer for work;
- answered an advertisement for a job in a newspaper;
- answered an advertisement for a job on the Internet;
- answered an advertisement for a job on noticeboards;
- had an interview;
- contacted friends or relatives;
- advertised or tendered for work;
- registered with a Job Services Australia provider; or
- registered with any other employment agency.
Actively looked for work
Actively looked for work includes:
- written, telephoned or applied to an employer for work;
- had an interview with an employer for work;
- answered an advertisement for a job;
- checked or registered with an employment agency;
- taken steps to purchase or start your own business;
- advertised or tendered for work; and
- contacted friends or relatives in order to obtain work.
Actual hours of work
Actual hours of work refers to a specified reference period (e.g. a week) and includes:
- hours actually worked during normal periods of work;
- time spent in addition to hours worked during normal periods of work (including overtime);
- time spent at the place of work on activities such as the preparation of the workplace, repairs and maintenance, preparation and cleaning of tools, and the preparation of receipts, time sheets and reports;
- time spent at the place of work waiting or standing by due to machinery or process breakdown, accident, lack of supplies, power or internet access, etc.;
- time corresponding to short rest periods (resting time) including tea and coffee breaks or prayer breaks;
- travel time connected to work (excluding commuting time); and
- training and skills enhancement related to the job or employer.
Excluded are:
- hours paid for but not worked, such as paid annual leave, public holidays or paid sick leave;
- meal breaks (e.g. lunch breaks);
- paid and unpaid time 'on call';
- time spent on travel to and from work when no productive activity for the job is performed (e.g. commuting time); and
- time off during working hours to attend outside educational activities, even if it is authorised, e.g. those not connected to the job or employer.
For multiple job holders the LFS collects a separate measure of actual hours worked in main job and in all jobs.
Adult employees
Adult employees are those employees 21 years of age or over and those employees who, although under 21 years of age, are paid at the full adult rate for their occupation.
Adult rate
Payment at the full rate stipulated in an award, agreement or the minimum wage order in the relevant jurisdiction.
Age of youngest child
Age of the youngest child, 12 years and under, in the household.
Agreement to work flexible hours
An agreement that is either in writing or otherwise. A written agreement can be in the form of, but not limited to, an individual written agreement between an employer and employee, or a Collective Agreement or Certified Agreement (CA) made directly between an employer and a group of employees.
All jobs
Employed persons may have more than one job. All jobs data items are about all the work that an employed person undertook during the reference week, not only the work that they undertook in their main job. A person's main job is the job in which they usually work the most number of hours.
Applied for workers' compensation
To have formally applied for workers' compensation by completing an application for compensation.
Apprentice
An apprentice is a person who has entered into a legal contract (called a training agreement or contract of training) with an employer, to serve a period of training for the purpose of attaining tradesperson status in a recognised trade. Apprentices and trainees are identified by their answer to a question specifically pertaining to the Australian Apprenticeship Scheme.
Apprentice or trainee rate
Payment at a rate stipulated for apprentices or trainees in an award, agreement or the minimum wage order in the relevant jurisdiction.
Attending full-time education
Persons aged 15-24 years enrolled at secondary or high school or enrolled as a full-time student at a Technical and Further Education (TAFE) college, university, or other educational institution in the reference week.
Attending school
Persons aged 15-19 years enrolled at secondary or high school in the reference week.
Attending tertiary educational institution full-time
Persons aged 15-24 years enrolled full-time at a TAFE college, university, or other educational institution in the reference week, except those persons aged 15-19 years who were still attending school.
Australian citizen
Being an Australian citizen formalises a person's membership of the Australian community. It entitles a person to live permanently in Australia, hold an Australian passport and do such things as vote to elect Australia's governments, stand for parliament, work in the Public Service and serve in the armed forces. A person may acquire Australian citizenship in a number of ways, for example, by birth, adoption, descent, resumption or granting of Australian citizenship (naturalisation). Migrants no longer require a visa once citizenship is granted.
Available to start work
Refers to employed or unemployed people who were available to start work with more hours either in the reference week, or in the four weeks subsequent to the interview.
Available to start work with more hours
Employed people who usually worked 0–34 hours per week in all jobs and were available to start work with more hours in the reference week or within four weeks.
Available to start work within four weeks
People who were available to start work within four weeks or, for people with children aged 12 years and under, could start work within four weeks if suitable child care was available.
Average (mean) earnings
The amount obtained by dividing the total earnings of a group (e.g. full-time employees) by the number of employees in that group.
Average weekly cash earnings
Average weekly cash earnings represents average gross (before tax) earnings of employees, inclusive of salary sacrifice. Average weekly cash earnings differ from average weekly earnings by the average weekly amount salary sacrificed.
Average weekly earnings
Average weekly earnings statistics represent average gross (before tax) earnings of employees and do not relate to average award rates or to the earnings of the 'average person'. Estimates of average weekly earnings are derived by dividing estimates of weekly total earnings by estimates of number of employees.
Award only
Awards are legally enforceable determinations made by federal or state industrial tribunals that set the terms of employment (pay and/or conditions), usually in a particular industry or occupation.
An award may be the sole mechanism used to set the pay and/or conditions for an employee or group of employees, or may be used in conjunction with an individual or collective agreement. Employees are classified to the Award only category if they are paid at the rate of pay specified in the award, and are not paid more than that rate of pay.